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The Case Against the President: Emoluments, Trump's Finances, Taxes & Foundation (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter SaintsInDome2006
- Start date
Dickies
Footballguy
sho nuff
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
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fatguyinalittlecoat
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
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Ruffrodys05
IBL Representative
Totally ignoring the Emoluments Clause, everything is a-ok. Situation normal. Look!! A squirrel!!
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Mario Kart
Footballguy
Who is buying Ivanka’s stuff? Doesn’t she sell higher end stuff? The Trump name is toxic, isn’t it? She should use her husbands name... oh wait.
![[scooter]](/data/avatars/m/22/22287.jpg?1659477690){kind=avatar}
[scooter]
Footballguy
Lots of big name retailers still stock her cheap clothing line (Macy's, Ross, Wal-Mart, tons of others).
Macy's stopped selling Donald's products but they have no ethical problem with Ivanka.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Sheriff Bart
Footballguy
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
squistion
Footballguy
Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand 10m10 minutes ago
Lots of subpoenas yesterday--Maryland prosecutors also subpoenaed financial documents from Trump's golf courses in Scotland, per the Times of London, as part of their investigation into whether Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/trumps-scottish-finances-in-the-spotlight-tnrfhtcd7
Lots of subpoenas yesterday--Maryland prosecutors also subpoenaed financial documents from Trump's golf courses in Scotland, per the Times of London, as part of their investigation into whether Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/trumps-scottish-finances-in-the-spotlight-tnrfhtcd7
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Here's the full thing for any so interested.
Trump’s Scottish finances in the spotlight
The company that owns Donald Trump’s Scottish golf courses is being investigated by US prosecutors.
DJT Holdings, the parent company for resorts in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, has been ordered to open its books to prosecutors investigating a hotel in Washington.
Brian Frosh, the attorney-general for Maryland, was confident that he would prove that President Trump was still receiving money from his businesses.
More questions have been raised about how Mr Trump funded his spending spree in Scotland, after reports that Deutsche Bank had turned him down for a loan to fund work at his Turnberry leisure complex. Mr Trump bought the Menie estate in 2006 with the aim of creating a 1,500-acre golf resort. He acquired the Turnberry hotel and golf course in Ayrshire in 2014.
Mr Trump has been fighting lawsuits that claim that foreign representatives spending money at the Trump International Hotel was a violation of the constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
Opponents have also accused the president of using his office to promote his businesses, including describing his Turnberry resort as “a magical place” at a presidential press conference at Nato headquarters in Brussels last year.
Robert Mueller, the US special counsel, is also likely to scrutinise British accounts after Democrats raised concerns that the money could have come from Russia.
Mr Trump resigned from DJT Holdings before his inauguration in 2017 and transferred his assets to a trust.
Prosecutors in Maryland have demanded documents and access to properties controlled by the trust, DJT Holdings LLC and its subsidiary Trump Old Post Office LLC, trading as Trump International Hotel Washington.
Mr Frosh said the court was “seeking information proving that hotel revenues were flowing to the president through his affiliated entities, including the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust. We are confident that at the end of discovery we will be able to prove our case that President Trump is violating the constitution’s emoluments clauses, America’s first anti-corruption laws,” he said.
DJT Holdings is the parent and financial guarantor of Trump International near Aberdeen and controls Turnberry through a complex network.
SLC Turnberry Limited was bought from the Dubai government in 2014 by Mr Trump’s Golf Recreation Scotland Limited, owned by Turnberry Scotland LLC, which is 99 per cent owned by DJT Holdings LLC.
If successful the subpoena could provide a missing link in the chain of financing for Mr Trump’s Scottish golf courses.
Ben Cowdock, an anti-corruption expert at Transparency International, said that US limited liability companies (LLCs) did not file public accounts, so they could obscure the identity of the true owner. “The subpoena means we get to understand the ownership structure of DJT Holdings LLC, and hopefully that will shed further light on this trust, which will give us some real information on how that is set up,” he said. “Trusts make it really difficult to work out where the power lies, and I think this has been used by Trump to distance himself from these companies.”
Glenn Simpson, who compiled the “Russia dossier”, told the US House intelligence committee in 2017 that the opaque source of funding for Mr Trump’s golf courses was “concerning”.
Adam Schiff, the committee chairman, asked if the money could have come from Russia. Mr Simpson replied that British corporate accounts “don’t on their face show Russian involvement, but what they do show is enormous amounts of capital flowing into these projects from unknown sources. These golf course are just sinks, they don’t actually make any money.”
Mr Mueller has already subpoenaed Deutsche Bank after Mr Trump reportedly borrowed £130 million to transform the Old Post Office into his Washington hotel in 2016, according to Reuters.
On Saturday The New York Times reported that Deutsche Bank subsequently refused to lend him any more money for Turnberry when he ran for president.
Amanda Miller, a Trump Organisation spokeswoman, said that the company “bought Trump Turnberry without any financing and put tens of millions of dollars of our own money into the renovation”.
Turnberry reported losses for the fourth consecutive year under Mr Trump’s ownership, losing £3.38 million last year and £17.5 million in 2016, according to accounts filed by Golf Recreation Scotland.
The Trump Organisation wants planning permission to build 550 luxury homes near the Aberdeenshire resort, but the proposal has attracted more than 3,000 objections.
•The cost of policing Mr Trump’s four-day visit to the UK in July was more than £14.2 million, according to figures obtained by the Press Association. He met the Queen at Windsor Castle and played golf at Turnberry.
The company that owns Donald Trump’s Scottish golf courses is being investigated by US prosecutors.
DJT Holdings, the parent company for resorts in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, has been ordered to open its books to prosecutors investigating a hotel in Washington.
Brian Frosh, the attorney-general for Maryland, was confident that he would prove that President Trump was still receiving money from his businesses.
More questions have been raised about how Mr Trump funded his spending spree in Scotland, after reports that Deutsche Bank had turned him down for a loan to fund work at his Turnberry leisure complex. Mr Trump bought the Menie estate in 2006 with the aim of creating a 1,500-acre golf resort. He acquired the Turnberry hotel and golf course in Ayrshire in 2014.
Mr Trump has been fighting lawsuits that claim that foreign representatives spending money at the Trump International Hotel was a violation of the constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
Opponents have also accused the president of using his office to promote his businesses, including describing his Turnberry resort as “a magical place” at a presidential press conference at Nato headquarters in Brussels last year.
Robert Mueller, the US special counsel, is also likely to scrutinise British accounts after Democrats raised concerns that the money could have come from Russia.
Mr Trump resigned from DJT Holdings before his inauguration in 2017 and transferred his assets to a trust.
Prosecutors in Maryland have demanded documents and access to properties controlled by the trust, DJT Holdings LLC and its subsidiary Trump Old Post Office LLC, trading as Trump International Hotel Washington.
Mr Frosh said the court was “seeking information proving that hotel revenues were flowing to the president through his affiliated entities, including the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust. We are confident that at the end of discovery we will be able to prove our case that President Trump is violating the constitution’s emoluments clauses, America’s first anti-corruption laws,” he said.
DJT Holdings is the parent and financial guarantor of Trump International near Aberdeen and controls Turnberry through a complex network.
SLC Turnberry Limited was bought from the Dubai government in 2014 by Mr Trump’s Golf Recreation Scotland Limited, owned by Turnberry Scotland LLC, which is 99 per cent owned by DJT Holdings LLC.
If successful the subpoena could provide a missing link in the chain of financing for Mr Trump’s Scottish golf courses.
Ben Cowdock, an anti-corruption expert at Transparency International, said that US limited liability companies (LLCs) did not file public accounts, so they could obscure the identity of the true owner. “The subpoena means we get to understand the ownership structure of DJT Holdings LLC, and hopefully that will shed further light on this trust, which will give us some real information on how that is set up,” he said. “Trusts make it really difficult to work out where the power lies, and I think this has been used by Trump to distance himself from these companies.”
Glenn Simpson, who compiled the “Russia dossier”, told the US House intelligence committee in 2017 that the opaque source of funding for Mr Trump’s golf courses was “concerning”.
Adam Schiff, the committee chairman, asked if the money could have come from Russia. Mr Simpson replied that British corporate accounts “don’t on their face show Russian involvement, but what they do show is enormous amounts of capital flowing into these projects from unknown sources. These golf course are just sinks, they don’t actually make any money.”
Mr Mueller has already subpoenaed Deutsche Bank after Mr Trump reportedly borrowed £130 million to transform the Old Post Office into his Washington hotel in 2016, according to Reuters.
On Saturday The New York Times reported that Deutsche Bank subsequently refused to lend him any more money for Turnberry when he ran for president.
Amanda Miller, a Trump Organisation spokeswoman, said that the company “bought Trump Turnberry without any financing and put tens of millions of dollars of our own money into the renovation”.
Turnberry reported losses for the fourth consecutive year under Mr Trump’s ownership, losing £3.38 million last year and £17.5 million in 2016, according to accounts filed by Golf Recreation Scotland.
The Trump Organisation wants planning permission to build 550 luxury homes near the Aberdeenshire resort, but the proposal has attracted more than 3,000 objections.
•The cost of policing Mr Trump’s four-day visit to the UK in July was more than £14.2 million, according to figures obtained by the Press Association. He met the Queen at Windsor Castle and played golf at Turnberry.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Sheriff Bart
Footballguy
Ruffrodys05
IBL Representative
I thought DJT canned her? Eh, doesn't matter. She was there long enough, she'll get caught in the net too.Sheriff Bart said:
Lutherman2112
Footballguy
ericttspikes
Footballguy
The $107 million swindle.cosjobs said:
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I'm certain politicians in Louisiana have gone to jail for this kind of thing.cosjobs said:
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
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Wasn’t sure where to put this, it’s kind of interesting though not anything new per se.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/how-kleptocracy-came-to-america/580471/?utm_medium=offsite&utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=yahoo-non-hosted&yptr=yahoo
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/how-kleptocracy-came-to-america/580471/?utm_medium=offsite&utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=yahoo-non-hosted&yptr=yahoo
cosjobs
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
A Costa Rican paper, @nacion, says it has found the guys who built Trump National in 2002, using fake documents. Among the details: no sneaking over the Mexican border -- they flew into Newark.
- Just a twitter link with a shot of the headline in La Nacion, but we will see if anything comes of it.
- Just a twitter link with a shot of the headline in La Nacion, but we will see if anything comes of it.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Costa Ricans bought fake documents to work at Donald Trump’s golf club
Most were from Pérez Zeledón, arrived on tourist visas and were put in touch by acquaintances; at the beginning, they got paid a fifth of what a worker from the U.S. would earn.
"There were about 30 Ticos (Costa Ricans), and after that, it was Guatemalans, Hondurans ... The course is really big, I’d say it’s about from here to my house. You couldn’t walk it on foot, that course is incredibly big, I understand it’s one of the best golf courses in the United States. "
That’s how Franklin Mora, a resident of Cajón de Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, describes where he worked without legal status for a company owned by the now president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has focused his policies against illegal immigration and even declared a national emergency to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
The Trump National Golf Club, one of Trump's most exclusive golf courses, was built in large part by Costa Ricans in Bedminster, New Jersey, one of the wealthiest towns in Somerset County.
Franklin Mora worked there in 2002, when the course was starting out.
To work there, the Ticos bought false documents, including Social Security numbers, which were the only requirements by Trump's company before hiring and paying them.
That’s how Franklin Mora remembers it, as well as Mariano Quesada and Abel Mora, also neighbors of Cajón de Pérez Zeledón. Víctor Hugo Camacho, a neighbor of Aserrí, says the same. The four have family ties with each other.
Everyone says that they bought the document through acquaintances and contacts in the ‘Tico district’ of Bound Brook, New Jersey, about 40 minutes from the golf course.
"A false social. That costs about $100," said Franklin. Víctor Hugo, meanwhile, says: "I knew of some who charged them up to $300 or $400. It cost me $125, more or less."
"That was for a fake document, that you got right there in Bound Brook. What I had was a social (security number). It was like a little card, that I left there," continues Franklin Mora.
At different times during the last 17 years, Franklin, Abel, Mariano, Allan, Victor Hugo, and Risley, all Costa Ricans, and almost all from Cajón or with roots there, were helping each other make it to the U.S. in order to work at Trump’s property.
Arriving in the United States was easy. They bought plane tickets to Newark, New Jersey, entered on their tourist visa and, once there, they got to work.
Paid less with fake social security
Franklin Mora says they were paid between $8 and $10 per hour, “before taxes.” He remembers that the deductions were linked to their social security number, even though the number was fake. That means wages were deducted for benefits the workers would never get.
"We would go in at 6 in the morning and go out at 9 in the evening," says Franklin, who is now 46 years old. Without experience as a tractor operator, he worked 14 or 15 hours a day to build what is now considered one of the 10 best golf courses in the United States, as Trump himself advertises on the club's website.
The Trump National Golf Club, where a large group of Costa Ricans worked, is in the town of Bedminster, in Somerset County, New Jersey. Many of the exclusive club’s employees came from Santa Teresa de Cajón, a town in the mountains 30 minutes from Pérez Zeledón. Map: William Sánchez.
Fired after press reports
One by one, the Costa Ricans started returning back home, but they all still have relatives left in the United States. Franklin has a brother with legal residence, which allowed him to start his own landscaping company.
Víctor Hugo Camacho's brother works in Maryland and his nephews have residency. Abel Mora also has a brother in the United States.
Right now, many Costa Ricans and other Latin Americans working for the golf course while still undocumented are losing their jobs.
In December, The New York Times revealed the illegal labor at the Trump club after talking to Sandra Díaz, from Costa Rica, and Victorina Morales, from Guatemala. In response to the story, Trump executives have started to fire the undocumented workers.
The Washington Post revealed two weeks ago that the "purge" includes dismissals across Trump’s golf courses in New York and New Jersey.
The son of Victor Hugo Camacho, Risley, was one of those who recently returned to the country, in December, after the press reports.
Hat and jacket worn by the employees of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. These belong to Víctor Hugo Camacho and his sons, who worked at the club in recent years. Photo: Aarón Sequeira.
Worker treatment?
Víctor Hugo sighs, he prefers not to get too much into what others say. Everyone has their own story about working for Trump.
Franklin Mora remembers Max, a very good guy and one of his four bosses, but he also remembers Chris, who in his opinion "was very racist."
Víctor Hugo Camacho says he and his children were treated very well. He worked in construction, and when he began to suffer a pain in his right leg, he left his job on the course and was asked to return after recovering from the injury.
Twelve years later, he began to work at the Trump club again, now taking care of the grass and cutting every inch starting from 4:30 a.m. together with his two children.
He did know that he worked for Donald Trump, but he explains: "About Mr. Trump, that doesn’t really have anything to do with you. It may seem like a lie, but it didn’t really mean anything, in terms of the work and everything else."
The bosses at the club, according to Camacho, treated the workers well.
"As far as I know, they didn’t mistreat anyone, and sometimes they were too easy on people," he said. "When he became president, I was already there, and my boy was still there. I used to say, well, this is going to get ugly, because the man spoke so badly about immigrants."
Franklin and Abel, who only worked at in the club’s very early years, weren’t really aware of who Trump was.
Heading to work together
It's hot at noon on a Wednesday, and Franklin Mora agrees to talk for a while.
He’s doing construction work on a building in Cajón de Pérez Zeledón and he remembers that in the United States, the heat would be even worse. The heat and the cold.
"I was actually doing okay (in Costa Rica), but people would come and say that in the United States you could almost find clothes in every trash can, you should hear what they would tell you. That's why you end up going and seeing for yourself," Franklin says.
Now, 17 years later, he can say that "it's not like you're told," and it wasn’t true that the job would be easy. Even though sometimes he was told not to go in to work because of rain, if he was already working on the course, "it could rain or thunder" and you couldn’t leave you or even wait it out.
"I wanted to go and instead of just hearing about it, I wanted to experience it. Living in Bound Brook (a working class neighborhood in New Jersey), it was like coming to Santa Teresa (in the Cajón de Pérez Zeledón district). "
“All of us who lived there were from Santa Teresa. We worked in that course, and we traveled in a van or a bus to get there at 6 in the morning, and it was 20 of us, sometimes up to 30.”
"There were about 30 Ticos (Costa Ricans), and after that, it was Guatemalans, Hondurans ... The course is really big, I’d say it’s about from here to my house. You couldn’t walk it on foot, that course is incredibly big, I understand it’s one of the best golf courses in the United States. "
That’s how Franklin Mora, a resident of Cajón de Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, describes where he worked without legal status for a company owned by the now president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has focused his policies against illegal immigration and even declared a national emergency to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
The Trump National Golf Club, one of Trump's most exclusive golf courses, was built in large part by Costa Ricans in Bedminster, New Jersey, one of the wealthiest towns in Somerset County.
Franklin Mora worked there in 2002, when the course was starting out.
To work there, the Ticos bought false documents, including Social Security numbers, which were the only requirements by Trump's company before hiring and paying them.
That’s how Franklin Mora remembers it, as well as Mariano Quesada and Abel Mora, also neighbors of Cajón de Pérez Zeledón. Víctor Hugo Camacho, a neighbor of Aserrí, says the same. The four have family ties with each other.
Everyone says that they bought the document through acquaintances and contacts in the ‘Tico district’ of Bound Brook, New Jersey, about 40 minutes from the golf course.
"A false social. That costs about $100," said Franklin. Víctor Hugo, meanwhile, says: "I knew of some who charged them up to $300 or $400. It cost me $125, more or less."
"That was for a fake document, that you got right there in Bound Brook. What I had was a social (security number). It was like a little card, that I left there," continues Franklin Mora.
At different times during the last 17 years, Franklin, Abel, Mariano, Allan, Victor Hugo, and Risley, all Costa Ricans, and almost all from Cajón or with roots there, were helping each other make it to the U.S. in order to work at Trump’s property.
Arriving in the United States was easy. They bought plane tickets to Newark, New Jersey, entered on their tourist visa and, once there, they got to work.
Paid less with fake social security
Franklin Mora says they were paid between $8 and $10 per hour, “before taxes.” He remembers that the deductions were linked to their social security number, even though the number was fake. That means wages were deducted for benefits the workers would never get.
"We would go in at 6 in the morning and go out at 9 in the evening," says Franklin, who is now 46 years old. Without experience as a tractor operator, he worked 14 or 15 hours a day to build what is now considered one of the 10 best golf courses in the United States, as Trump himself advertises on the club's website.
The Trump National Golf Club, where a large group of Costa Ricans worked, is in the town of Bedminster, in Somerset County, New Jersey. Many of the exclusive club’s employees came from Santa Teresa de Cajón, a town in the mountains 30 minutes from Pérez Zeledón. Map: William Sánchez.
Fired after press reports
One by one, the Costa Ricans started returning back home, but they all still have relatives left in the United States. Franklin has a brother with legal residence, which allowed him to start his own landscaping company.
Víctor Hugo Camacho's brother works in Maryland and his nephews have residency. Abel Mora also has a brother in the United States.
Right now, many Costa Ricans and other Latin Americans working for the golf course while still undocumented are losing their jobs.
In December, The New York Times revealed the illegal labor at the Trump club after talking to Sandra Díaz, from Costa Rica, and Victorina Morales, from Guatemala. In response to the story, Trump executives have started to fire the undocumented workers.
The Washington Post revealed two weeks ago that the "purge" includes dismissals across Trump’s golf courses in New York and New Jersey.
The son of Victor Hugo Camacho, Risley, was one of those who recently returned to the country, in December, after the press reports.
Hat and jacket worn by the employees of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. These belong to Víctor Hugo Camacho and his sons, who worked at the club in recent years. Photo: Aarón Sequeira.
Worker treatment?
Víctor Hugo sighs, he prefers not to get too much into what others say. Everyone has their own story about working for Trump.
Franklin Mora remembers Max, a very good guy and one of his four bosses, but he also remembers Chris, who in his opinion "was very racist."
Víctor Hugo Camacho says he and his children were treated very well. He worked in construction, and when he began to suffer a pain in his right leg, he left his job on the course and was asked to return after recovering from the injury.
Twelve years later, he began to work at the Trump club again, now taking care of the grass and cutting every inch starting from 4:30 a.m. together with his two children.
He did know that he worked for Donald Trump, but he explains: "About Mr. Trump, that doesn’t really have anything to do with you. It may seem like a lie, but it didn’t really mean anything, in terms of the work and everything else."
The bosses at the club, according to Camacho, treated the workers well.
"As far as I know, they didn’t mistreat anyone, and sometimes they were too easy on people," he said. "When he became president, I was already there, and my boy was still there. I used to say, well, this is going to get ugly, because the man spoke so badly about immigrants."
Franklin and Abel, who only worked at in the club’s very early years, weren’t really aware of who Trump was.
Heading to work together
It's hot at noon on a Wednesday, and Franklin Mora agrees to talk for a while.
He’s doing construction work on a building in Cajón de Pérez Zeledón and he remembers that in the United States, the heat would be even worse. The heat and the cold.
"I was actually doing okay (in Costa Rica), but people would come and say that in the United States you could almost find clothes in every trash can, you should hear what they would tell you. That's why you end up going and seeing for yourself," Franklin says.
Now, 17 years later, he can say that "it's not like you're told," and it wasn’t true that the job would be easy. Even though sometimes he was told not to go in to work because of rain, if he was already working on the course, "it could rain or thunder" and you couldn’t leave you or even wait it out.
"I wanted to go and instead of just hearing about it, I wanted to experience it. Living in Bound Brook (a working class neighborhood in New Jersey), it was like coming to Santa Teresa (in the Cajón de Pérez Zeledón district). "
“All of us who lived there were from Santa Teresa. We worked in that course, and we traveled in a van or a bus to get there at 6 in the morning, and it was 20 of us, sometimes up to 30.”
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
House Opens Inquiry Into Proposed U.S. Nuclear Venture in Saudi Arabia
- I'm pretty sure Keane is a Fox News contributor also.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Last edited by a moderator:
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Cohen Gave Prosecutors New Information on the Trump Family Business
Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the president’s family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities.
While it was not clear whether the prosecutors found Mr. Cohen’s information credible and whether they intended to pursue it, the meeting suggests that they are interested in broader aspects of the Trump Organization, beyond their investigation into the company’s role in the hush money payments made before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had affairs with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last summer to arranging those payments.
The prosecutors also questioned Mr. Cohen about a donor to the president’s inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser, according to the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time that Mr. Zuberi contributed $900,000 to the committee, he also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, one of the people said.
Although Mr. Cohen did not go through with the arrangement, he was building a consulting business at the time with clients who sought to understand and have access to the Trump administration.
A spokesman for Mr. Zuberi, Steve Rabinowitz, confirmed the check on Friday, saying it was for $100,000 and never cashed. Mr. Zuberi, the only person directly referenced in a recent subpoena the prosecutors sent the inaugural committee, had previously denied having any dealings with Mr. Cohen beyond a few conversations.
There was no indication that Mr. Cohen, who is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence in May, implicated Mr. Trump in the possible irregularities discussed during the meeting last month. If prosecutors concluded that Mr. Cohen’s information was truthful and valuable, they could ask the judge who sentenced him to reduce his prison term.
The White House referred questions to the Trump Organization. A spokeswoman at the company did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, the president has accused Mr. Cohen of lying to try to reduce his sentence.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer and adviser to Mr. Cohen, would not comment on the investigations beyond saying that his client was “interested in cooperating with and assisting” the prosecutors “in any way they believe is helpful.”
A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, known as the Southern District of New York, declined to comment.
The prosecutors recently sought to interview Trump Organization executives, according to a person briefed on the request, which was previously reported by CNN. The nature of the questions they were seeking to ask was not known.
So far, Mr. Cohen is the only person sentenced to significant prison time in various investigations connected to Mr. Trump.
In August, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws for his role in the hush money payments, as well as tax and bank crimes. In a separate case brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about the timing of negotiations to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, and about the extent of Mr. Trump’s involvement in the plans.
In a memo to the court before he was sentenced in December, Mr. Cohen’s lawyers wrote that he was being disproportionately punished for “conduct that is routinely pursued through noncriminal enforcement,” referring to his admission of tax evasion. His lawyers drew a comparison to celebrities who received either fines or far less time after being charged with extensive tax fraud.
The session with the Southern District prosecutors was not the first time Mr. Cohen provided information that could possibly lead to a reduced sentence. Earlier, Mr. Cohen met twice with the prosecutors to assist their investigation of the payments to women, including the Trump Organization’s decision to reimburse Mr. Cohen for $130,000 he paid to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels.
In an interview in December, Mr. Cohen told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that he was “done with the lying.” He went on: “I am done being loyal to President Trump, and my first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country.
Federal law allows prosecutors to seek — and a judge to grant — a reduced prison term for a defendant who offers “substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person” within a year of being sentenced. The same rule would also allow the judge to consider assistance Mr. Cohen provided, before his sentencing, to the special counsel. Last year, he met seven times with prosecutors from Mr. Mueller’s office.
The continued scrutiny of the Trump family business and inaugural committee from the Southern District comes as Mr. Mueller is said to be wrapping up his investigation. Once he completes a report with his findings, various aspects of his investigation are expected to live on in the Southern District and other United States attorneys offices.
Mr. Cohen declined to seek a formal cooperation deal with the Southern District, which would have required him to disclose any crimes he had committed or had been aware of, and would have delayed his sentencing. His decision to forgo such an agreement most likely contributed to the severity of his sentence; his lawyer had argued for no prison time.
Mr. Trump had offered a different view, saying late last year that Mr. Cohen should serve a “full and complete” prison sentence. And as Mr. Cohen remained in the spotlight as a likely witness before Congress, Mr. Trump intensified his attacks on his former employee, urging prosecutors and the media to scrutinize Mr. Cohen’s family.
The attacks led Mr. Cohen to postpone a planned appearance before the House oversight committee earlier this month. But this week, the committee announced that the testimony was back on for next Wednesday and that Democrats planned to question Mr. Cohen about “the president’s business practices.”
Mr. Cohen has also agreed to testify behind closed doors before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Mr. Cohen was originally scheduled to begin his prison term next month, but his lawyers cited the congressional testimony — as well as recent shoulder surgery — as a reason for a two-month delay. The judge overseeing Mr. Cohen’s case granted the request on Wednesday.
Mr. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities.
While it was not clear whether the prosecutors found Mr. Cohen’s information credible and whether they intended to pursue it, the meeting suggests that they are interested in broader aspects of the Trump Organization, beyond their investigation into the company’s role in the hush money payments made before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had affairs with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last summer to arranging those payments.
The prosecutors also questioned Mr. Cohen about a donor to the president’s inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser, according to the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time that Mr. Zuberi contributed $900,000 to the committee, he also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, one of the people said.
Although Mr. Cohen did not go through with the arrangement, he was building a consulting business at the time with clients who sought to understand and have access to the Trump administration.
A spokesman for Mr. Zuberi, Steve Rabinowitz, confirmed the check on Friday, saying it was for $100,000 and never cashed. Mr. Zuberi, the only person directly referenced in a recent subpoena the prosecutors sent the inaugural committee, had previously denied having any dealings with Mr. Cohen beyond a few conversations.
There was no indication that Mr. Cohen, who is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence in May, implicated Mr. Trump in the possible irregularities discussed during the meeting last month. If prosecutors concluded that Mr. Cohen’s information was truthful and valuable, they could ask the judge who sentenced him to reduce his prison term.
The White House referred questions to the Trump Organization. A spokeswoman at the company did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, the president has accused Mr. Cohen of lying to try to reduce his sentence.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer and adviser to Mr. Cohen, would not comment on the investigations beyond saying that his client was “interested in cooperating with and assisting” the prosecutors “in any way they believe is helpful.”
A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, known as the Southern District of New York, declined to comment.
The prosecutors recently sought to interview Trump Organization executives, according to a person briefed on the request, which was previously reported by CNN. The nature of the questions they were seeking to ask was not known.
So far, Mr. Cohen is the only person sentenced to significant prison time in various investigations connected to Mr. Trump.
In August, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws for his role in the hush money payments, as well as tax and bank crimes. In a separate case brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about the timing of negotiations to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, and about the extent of Mr. Trump’s involvement in the plans.
In a memo to the court before he was sentenced in December, Mr. Cohen’s lawyers wrote that he was being disproportionately punished for “conduct that is routinely pursued through noncriminal enforcement,” referring to his admission of tax evasion. His lawyers drew a comparison to celebrities who received either fines or far less time after being charged with extensive tax fraud.
The session with the Southern District prosecutors was not the first time Mr. Cohen provided information that could possibly lead to a reduced sentence. Earlier, Mr. Cohen met twice with the prosecutors to assist their investigation of the payments to women, including the Trump Organization’s decision to reimburse Mr. Cohen for $130,000 he paid to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels.
In an interview in December, Mr. Cohen told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that he was “done with the lying.” He went on: “I am done being loyal to President Trump, and my first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country.
Federal law allows prosecutors to seek — and a judge to grant — a reduced prison term for a defendant who offers “substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person” within a year of being sentenced. The same rule would also allow the judge to consider assistance Mr. Cohen provided, before his sentencing, to the special counsel. Last year, he met seven times with prosecutors from Mr. Mueller’s office.
The continued scrutiny of the Trump family business and inaugural committee from the Southern District comes as Mr. Mueller is said to be wrapping up his investigation. Once he completes a report with his findings, various aspects of his investigation are expected to live on in the Southern District and other United States attorneys offices.
Mr. Cohen declined to seek a formal cooperation deal with the Southern District, which would have required him to disclose any crimes he had committed or had been aware of, and would have delayed his sentencing. His decision to forgo such an agreement most likely contributed to the severity of his sentence; his lawyer had argued for no prison time.
Mr. Trump had offered a different view, saying late last year that Mr. Cohen should serve a “full and complete” prison sentence. And as Mr. Cohen remained in the spotlight as a likely witness before Congress, Mr. Trump intensified his attacks on his former employee, urging prosecutors and the media to scrutinize Mr. Cohen’s family.
The attacks led Mr. Cohen to postpone a planned appearance before the House oversight committee earlier this month. But this week, the committee announced that the testimony was back on for next Wednesday and that Democrats planned to question Mr. Cohen about “the president’s business practices.”
Mr. Cohen has also agreed to testify behind closed doors before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Mr. Cohen was originally scheduled to begin his prison term next month, but his lawyers cited the congressional testimony — as well as recent shoulder surgery — as a reason for a two-month delay. The judge overseeing Mr. Cohen’s case granted the request on Wednesday.
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