New York takes on Trump as his home town turns against him

New York takes on Trump as his home town turns against him

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, US correspondent

Of all the legal jeopardy currently facing Donald Trump, there is one investigation that may yet prove the most problematic for the president.

It is not special counsel Robert Mueller's impending report, nor the new probes launched by House Democrats, but a wide ranging inquiry currently being conducted by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

The Southern District of New York, known as the SDNY, has quite a reputation; aggressive, independent and very, very good.

Prosecutors there are not restricted, as Mr Mueller is, to a particular area of concern.


In fact they are professionally obliged to follow the evidence wherever it takes them without fear or favour.

Image: The Thurgood Marshall Courthouse hears cases from the US District Court for the SDNY

And they cannot be sacked by the occupant of the Oval Office.

It is these prosecutors who have decided to look in to whether any crimes have been committed in Mr Trump's orbit.

It reportedly all started with the SDNY's case against the president's former personal fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen.

Mr Cohen was referred to the SDNY via Robert Mueller, and in short order he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, bank fraud and other crimes.

But the SDNY's involvement in Mr Trump's world didn't end with Mr Cohen's guilty plea.

Quite the opposite.

It seems to have prompted these powerful prosecutors to keep looking.

The SDNY has quite a reputation; aggressive, independent and very, very good.

Because as part of Mr Cohen's plea he admitted to paying hush money to two women who according to a statement from the SDNY "otherwise planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate, thereby intending to influence the 2016 presidential election."

In court documents, and in subsequent public testimony, Mr Cohen said he broke the law at the direction of Mr Trump, and that several other people at the New York based Trump Organisation also knew what was going on.

Separately, Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of negotiations relating to the building of a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Image: Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer, was referred to the SDNY via Robert Mueller

Again, as part of this plea he implicated the president, saying he discussed the tower with Mr Trump and briefed his family about it on several occasions in the run up to the election, despite the president's insistence that he never had any business involvement with Russia.

Mr Cohen said recently that although Mr Trump didn't explicitly ask him to lie, he strongly suggested that Mr Cohen should.

And the SDNY's investigations reportedly don't end there.

Image: There are no restrictions on the SDNY investigation into Mr Trump

It sent subpoenas to Mr Trump's inauguration committee seeking material relating to possible money laundering, mail and wire fraud, illegal foreign contributions, and campaign finance violations.

And when he testified before Congress in late February, Mr Cohen inferred that the SDNY investigation is even more wide ranging than is publicly known.

He was asked by a committee member: "Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Mr Trump that we haven't yet discussed today?"

To the president, who once ran with a crowd that treated New York City as a personal playground, it must feel like his home town has turned against him.

Mr Cohen replied yes, but declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation in New York.

He said he was in constant contact with the SDNY's prosecutors.

He also accused the president, who in turn has called Mr Cohen a "fake witness", of variously inflating and deflating the value of assets for financial gain.

The SDNY, like all federal prosecutors offices, adheres to the notion that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

But there is nothing to stop it doing so once he leaves, or should the evidence warrant it, charging close associates and Trump family members.

It just so happens that the president's new personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani used to be the SDNY's top prosecutor.

Image: Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's new personal lawyer, used the power of the SDNY to go after the mafia

He used the power of the SDNY to go after the mafia and other criminal organisations.

Now the office he helped build into a juggernaut appears to be coming after his boss.

Giuliani will also know that the Manhattan District Attorney and the New York Attorney General's office are both pursuing separate investigations that relate to the Trump Organisation and the Trump Foundation respectively.

To the president, who once ran with a crowd that treated New York City as a personal playground, it must feel like his home town has turned against him.

For all the noise in Washington DC, it is worth tracking what's happening in New York very closely indeed.

Sky Views is a series of comment pieces by Sky News editors and correspondents, published every morning.

Previously on Sky Views: Paul Kelso - Cheltenham Festival will be a fleeting relief from Brexit