August 21, 2018 Mr. Cohen, previously Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty to federal crimes and told a court that Mr. Trump instructed him to arrange payments to two women. The payments were made during the 2016 campaign to prevent the women from speaking publicly about affairs they said they had with Mr Trump. Immediately after Mr. Cohen’s admission, the Manhattan district attorney’s office launched an investigation into whether the payments violated New York state law. The office was soon shut down at the request of federal prosecutors, who were investigating the same conduct. August 2019
The attorney general’s office is calling the Trump Organization.
After federal prosecutors said they had “substantially concluded” their investigation, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney at the time, resumed his own investigation. At the end of the month, prosecutors in his office issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization and another to Mr. Trump’s accounting office, demanding eight years of Mr. Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns. September 19, 2019
Mr Trump’s lawyers are suing to protect his tax returns.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, led to a long delay. The case argued that a sitting president could not be criminally investigated. July 9, 2020
Mr. Vance wins his first major US Supreme Court victory.
After the appeals ruling against Mr. Trump, the lawsuit went to the Supreme Court, where the justices ruled that the presidency did not shield Mr. Trump from criminal investigations and that he did not have an absolute right to block the release of his tax returns. The ruling left Mr. Trump with the opportunity to raise different objections to Mr. Vance’s subpoena. He grew up. August 3, 2020
A deposition implies a new research focus.
A court filing by the district attorney’s office claimed it had investigated Mr Trump and his business for possible bank and insurance fraud – a much broader scope than hush money payments. The filing cited a newspaper report that the president may be illegally inflating the value of his properties. About a month later, Mr. Trump tried a new approach to fighting the subpoena for his tax returns, arguing in court that the request was politically motivated and amounted to an “illegal fishing expedition.” FALL 2020
The investigation is intensifying.
Prosecutors interviewed employees of the main bank and insurance company serving Mr. Trump and issued several new subpoenas. The prosecutor’s office also noted in another court that it had grounds to investigate the president for tax fraud. Mr Trump said the investigation was politically motivated. Credit… Stephanie Reynolds for The New York Times February 22, 2021
The Supreme Court rejects Mr. Trump’s last-ditch effort to block the release of his returns.
The brief unsigned order was a decisive defeat for Mr. Trump and a turning point in Mr. Vance’s investigation. A few hours later, eight years of financial records were delivered to Mr. Vance’s office. March 1, 2021
The focus of the investigation turns to a senior executive.
In the spring, Mr. Vance’s prosecutors set their sights on Allen H. Weiselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, whom they hoped to coerce into cooperating with their investigation. Prosecutors were particularly interested in whether the Trump Organization distributed valuable benefits to Mr. Weiselberg as a form of tax-free compensation. July 1, 2021
The Trump Organization is responsible for running a 15-year tax regime.
When Mr. Weisselberg refused to turn himself in to his boss, prosecutors announced charges against him and Mr. Trump’s company, saying the company helped its executives evade taxes by compensating them with perks such as free cars and apartments that were hidden from the authorities. Fall 2021
Prosecutors are in a critical phase of the investigation.
Investigators have issued new subpoenas for information about Mr. Trump’s properties and indicated they are back at the heart of the former president’s statements about the value of his properties. By December, Mr. Vance authorized his prosecutors to begin presenting evidence against Mr. Trump to a grand jury, a process that likely would have resulted in an indictment of the former president. JAN. 1, 2022
A new Manhattan District Attorney takes office.
Mr. Vance stepped down and his elected successor, Alvin L. Bragg, took over the case. Mr. Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, retained two of the leaders of the investigation, Mark F. Pomerantz, an experienced former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense lawyer, and Carey Dunne, Mr. Vance’s general counsel. February 23, 2022
Two prosecutors resign, leaving the future of the investigation in doubt.
After Mr. Bragg expressed reservations about the case, Mr. Pomeranz and Mr. Dunn suspended the presentation of evidence against Mr. Trump to a grand jury. A month later, they resigned, causing an uproar over Mr Bragg’s decision not to prosecute. In his resignation letter, which was later obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Pomerantz said that Mr. Trump was guilty of several felonies. April 29, 2022
A grand jury is out.
The grand jury hearing evidence against Mr. Trump ended at the end of April. Although Mr. Bragg’s investigation continued, signs emerged that the former president would not be indicted in Manhattan anytime soon. August 18, 2022
Mr. Weiselberg pleads guilty and agrees to testify against the Trump Organization.
Although the CFO declined to turn to Mr. Trump himself, he agreed to testify at the October trial against the company he served for nearly half a century. October 24, 2022
Jury selection begins, marking the official start of the trial.
Lawyers from the U.S. attorney’s office and the Trump Organization gathered in a Manhattan courtroom to begin interviews with jurors. December 5, 2022
The case goes to court.
After five weeks of sitting quietly in court, the New York panel found itself in the spotlight as it considered whether or not the Trump Organization was guilty.
