Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has sent a subpoena to Mazars USA, President Donald Trump’s longtime accounting firm, requesting eight years of Trump’s tax returns as part of the DA office’s investigation into hush money payments, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The New York Times, which first reported the news, writes that Trump and his organization reimbursed the President’s former lawyer Michael Cohen for the hush money he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump before he took office.
The subpoena is the latest one in the ongoing effort by Democrats to get their hands on the President’s tax returns, which has so far mainly gone through the courts as the Trump administration refuses to comply with the subpoenas. Trump, who has broken with tradition and refused to release his tax returns, has repeatedly claimed IRS audits have prevented him from making public his financial information.
The subpoena also seeks tax returns from the Trump Organization dating back to 2011.
It is unclear for now what deadline Mazars USA has to comply with the request, but the accounting firm said it will provide the information requested.
“Mazars USA will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations. We believe strongly in the ethical and professional rules and regulations that govern our industry, our work and our client interactions. As a matter of firm policy and professional rules we do not comment on the work we conduct for our clients,” the company said in a statement.
A lawyer for the Trump Organization said they were “evaluating and will respond as appropriate.”
Prosecutors are trying to determine whether the Trump Organization filed any false business records in how it accounted for the $130,000 reimbursement to Cohen, CNN has learned from a source.
Last month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office also sent subpoenas to the Trump Organization and American Media Inc seeking communications between the company and representatives for Daniels and another woman, Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have had an affair with Trump.
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