Reports: New York prosecutors convene grand jury in Trump probe
26 May 2021
New York prosecutors have convened a grand jury to consider whether to indict former President Trump and Trump Organization executives as part of a criminal investigation into the company, the Washington Post first reported Tuesday.
Why it matters: The reported development signals an escalation in the two-year investigations into Trump Organization's finances by the Manhattan district attorney's office and the New York attorney general's office, which last week announced a joint criminal probe into the former president and his company.
Driving the news: The investigations are looking into potential bank, tax and insurance fraud. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
- They include "scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with his lenders; a land donation he made to qualify for an income tax deduction; and tax write-offs his company claimed on millions of dollars in consulting fees it paid," AP reports.
- The recently convened jury will gather three days a week for six months, according to WashPost.
- The group is expected to hear several other matters during this time, according to the Post and AP.
What they're saying: Representatives for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. But Trump said last week the allegations against him were "false" and the investigation "is in desperate search of a crime."
- Representatives for New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance declined to comment on the matter.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.