Former President Trump News/Discussion.... - Page 2

**Sabbers2** · February 23rd, 2021, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

If Mr Trump retires from public life and becomes a private citizen, This thread will wither away, If not it'll be as relevant as any other.

Whats he going to feed his ego with if he becomes private citizen?

**Baxter49** · February 23rd, 2021, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estreeter

I have to answer this in 2 ways.

First as staff here, if I had a problem with the thread I'd have pulled it already but haven't. Given your thoughts about the end of Trumps presidency and he is out, the other thread might just be obsolete now and we may keep it closed.

Second, the bulk of my first post is how I feel as just another nobody in the world

and my disgust with politics in general and for that matter the wedge it has created and continues to. Witch hunts, personality politics, tit for tat politics and media bias, turning blind eyes to one own preferred parties mistakes or immoral acts concern me.

Trump never has been and is incapable of being an angel, he's far far far from alone when it comes to that.

Not much of an answer for you.

Lots of people here create political or news threads. Trump's always been a figure that garnered attention. Many are disgusted by politics, at this time I'm more interested.

If Nixon was not pardoned by Ford and stood trial I'm sure it would have had a VEF thread in 1974, you could make a very fair argument Ford only lost the presidency to Carter because he pardoned Nixon.

As I write this on CNN the police are testifying about a riot many citizens feel Donald Trump is directly responsible for as the amendment keeps surfacing about Trump not being allowed to run again or hold office.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax...8a5b25b94b1071

What NY prosecutors could learn from Trump's tax records

**aegean** · February 23rd, 2021, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabbers2

Whats he going to feed his ego with if he becomes private citizen?

As if the press will ever stay away from him - they love him, they miss him.

As for taxes - finish looking at the Clintons and their VERY dodgy dealings - them do Trump.

But to be honest I'd pay more interest to the dodgy dealings with the vipers nest that is still in power.

**scoundrel** · February 23rd, 2021, 11:39 PM

Mr Trump is a private citizen now and the judicial process will do its work. Nothing we say here will affect the outcome either way - we merely observe and comment, like the chorus in an Ancient Greek tragedy. No doubt he has made many enemies and plenty of them are here - but the decisions will be according to due process, as is required by natural as well as statutory justice.

**Baxter49** · February 24th, 2021, 01:07 AM

Canada's leader took a dig at Trump on Tuesday, CNN reported North Korea's leader was offered a ride on AF1 from Vietnam by Trump a few years ago.
****************************************

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/23/polit...ess/index.html

Pence speaks highly of Trump in meeting and plans to launch a political group

(CNN)Former Vice President Mike Pence told a group of conservative lawmakers on Tuesday that he maintains a close personal friendship with former President Donald Trump, while noting that he plans to launch a political organization that will defend their administration's record over the past four years.

Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, told CNN that a group of members met at Pence's transition office in the Washington area on Tuesday afternoon, talking about the way forward for their party while also touting the accomplishments of the past.

Pence harbored no ill will towards Trump over the January 6 riot, where pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol with many looking for Pence who was presiding over the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory. In fact, Trump's actions ahead of the riot "never came up," Banks said.

"He spoke very favorably about his relationship with President Trump," Banks told CNN. "I got the sense they speak often and maintain the same personal friendship and relationship now that they have for four years."

CNN reported Monday that Pence and Trump have spoken twice since the inauguration last month, according to a knowledgeable source who described their relationship as "amicable."

Banks said that he expected Pence -- who declined an invitation to speak at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Florida -- to be more visible in the months to come.

"He'll be launching an organization defending the successful Trump-Pence record of the last four years," Banks said..

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ion-if-he-runs

Romney Says Trump Would Win 2024 GOP Nomination If He Runs

“He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party,” Romney said at a New York Times DealBook virtual event on Tuesday. “I don’t know if he’s planning to run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m pretty sure he would win the nomination.”

The two wings of the GOP -- traditionalists like Romney and Trump loyalists -- are struggling over the party’s future. Trump has continued to exert a strong hold on Republican voters. A plurality of them, 46%, said they would abandon the GOP and join a Trump-led party if he were to create one, according to a USA Today/Suffolk poll conducted last week.

Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House Republican, said in a speech earlier Tuesday that Republicans must acknowledge the damage done by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, and his encouragement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following that Jan. 6 assault, which left five people dead.

Read More: Cheney Says Republicans Need to Recognize Damage Done by Trump

Asked whether he would campaign against Trump if he were to run, Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, responded: “I would not be voting for him.”

**Baxter49** · February 25th, 2021, 03:16 PM

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ma...ht-01614269247

Manhattan prosecutor obtains copies of Trump tax records after long fight

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York prosecutor has obtained copies of Donald Trump’s tax records after the Supreme Court this week rejected the former president’s last-ditch effort to prevent them from being handed over.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office enforced a subpoena on Trump’s accounting firm within hours of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday and now has the documents in hand, a spokesperson for the office, Danny Frost, said Thursday.
*************************************8
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/25/polit...ily/index.html
Trump plots future -- and revenge -- from sunny Florida links

CNN)In a South Florida war room, occupied most days by a party of one, a former President of the United States is plotting his return -- and his revenge.

He typically spends mornings on his nearby golf course, making and taking calls from a golf cart that doubles as his mobile, and self-driven, office. The multiple trips to the links in the last few weeks have served to accomplish a long-promised goal, says someone who spent time with him recently: Donald Trump claims he has increased his drive by 20 yards, a new favorite brag to golfing partners, or anyone who will listen.

Eighteen holes later, he leaves his Trump International Golf Club and returns to Mar-a-Lago, where he retreats within his quarters to his own private living space, separate from that of his wife, and ponders two main questions: Who is with him? And who is against him?

According to multiple people familiar with Trump's current habits, who requested anonymity to speak freely to CNN about the former President's day-to-day focus, his stated goal -- barring impact from ongoing criminal investigation -- is to run for president again, in 2024. Of course, he has no incentive to rule it out right now -- keeping himself in the mix helps sustain his kingmaker role. Looking to flex on 2022, he hopes to prove to both critics and supporters that he is the GOP's most effective puppeteer -- a role he will likely remind the party of during his weekend appearance at Conservative Political Action Conference.

His short-term goal includes watching his son Donald Trump Jr., the MAGA base's fervent mouthpiece, barnstorm his way across the country on behalf of Trump loyalists and supporters for midterms.

"Once 2022 kicks into high gear, expect Don (Trump Jr.) to be an extremely active presence on the campaign trail," a person who works with Trump Jr. told CNN, confirming not only the younger Trump's taste for political battle but that of the former President, as well.

Donald Trump's influence on the elections is becoming clearer by the day. Just Tuesday, former Sen. David Perdue announced that he will not launch a campaign, though he had very recently filed papers to do so. The decision follows close on the heels of Perdue's recent visit to Palm Beach, where he played golf with Trump, says a person familiar with the Georgia Republican's schedule.
On Tuesday evening, according to The Washington Post, Trump held court with Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. The quest, say those familiar with the visits and calls of varying Republican politicos, is to feel out where the former President's head is on the party's future, and whether he feels inclined to assist or oppose a particular person.

"We've seen this for years now -- Trumpian offers of encouragement that are more like the mafioso 'nice little business you have here' threats," says Doug Heye, a longtime Republican strategist and consultant who formerly worked in senior communications roles for leadership on Capitol Hill. "The problem for these candidates moving forward is that despite always hustling to score points, Donald Trump doesn't give points, he only takes them away. One at a time."

One person familiar with Trump's activities at Mar-a-Lago says he's more and more acting as CEO of the club, involved in operations, renovations and membership. For a time, his Palm Beach neighbors expressed disdain that Trump would be living mere blocks from their multimillion-dollar mansions -- a disruption they no longer wished to endure after the last four years of security and privacy challenges.

"I really don't think most Palm Beachers are even thinking about Trump any longer. He really never leaves his two clubs," said Laurence Leamer, a part-time Palm Beach resident and author of two tell-alls about the area, "Madness Under the Royal Palms" and "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace."

Trump is habitual, which makes it all the easier for those who want to find him, to seek his blessing or beg forgiveness for turning their backs, a practice Heye thinks will only increase in the months to come.

"For many, the fealty never ends. But part of Trump's bet when his campaign became serious was that the party would bend to him, he would not bend to the party. He was right," he said.

**Baxter49** · February 25th, 2021, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scoundrel

Mr Trump is a private citizen now and the judicial process will do its work. Nothing we say here will affect the outcome either way - we merely observe and comment, like the chorus in an Ancient Greek tragedy.

True, but nothing's changed beyond the fact he lost his job.

I was watching Frost-Nixon the other night and was fascinated by one of the lines by a character named Reston, who said he wanted to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had. My guess is we get that with Trump for real.

It was also priceless when Reston character was setting up just before Nixon's character (Frank Langella) walked in after the guy with him said are you going to shake his hand, and he said after all the crap he pulled on this county, I would never shake his hand.

A few seconds later there is Langella as Nixon introducing himself to Reston, and he just cowers and shakes his hands and calls him Mr President, and the guy with him said that's got to hurt, and he's like FU.

Yes, there were many fictionalized scenes in the Frost-Nixon movie.

**treehugger** · February 25th, 2021, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baxter49

Trump blamed the Supreme Court over his taxes returns release.

He plans on telling CPAC next weekend he's 2024 Presumptive Nominee:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...e-2024-nominee

Donald Trump will reportedly tell the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this week he is Republicans’ “presumptive 2024 nominee” for president.

And this is why the "Trump's Final Days" thread is no longer relevant. McConnell must be having a fit, the dude just won't go away.

Wonder what Melania is up to?

**treehugger** · February 26th, 2021, 01:09 AM

And McConnell bends the knee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fox News

Mitch McConnell ‘absolutely’ would support Trump if GOP nominee in 2024

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mit...ominee-in-2024

**Baxter49** · February 26th, 2021, 02:30 AM

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...-just-n1258876

Prosecutors just got millions of pages of Trump documents. His taxes are only the beginning.

The records are likely to offer New York investigators a revealing look into the former president’s business dealings, experts say.

The criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s financial dealings is entering a new and potentially perilous phase for the former president.

Trump had fought for more than a year to keep his records out of the hands of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. But after a Supreme Court decision this week cleared the way for the documents' release, they have been given to Vance’s investigators.

Now comes the hard part, according to former prosecutors.

Vance has enlisted outside experts, including a forensic consulting firm, to help pore over the vast collection of records in search of any improprieties.

“This is an exercise in very, very detailed digging in areas that are, for most of us, very arcane,” said Anthony Siano, who worked on financial fraud cases in his 14 years as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“There’s no magic to this,” added Siano, who is now a defense lawyer. “It’s incredibly tedious work.”

What will the investigators be looking for?

The materials that Trump fought to keep secret go far beyond his tax returns. Mazars USA, Trump's longtime accounting firm, was expected to turn over “any and all statements of financial condition, annual statements, periodic financial reports, and independent auditors’ reports,” according to court documents.

Several million pages of documents were handed over to Vance’s office when the subpoena was enforced on Monday, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The records are likely to provide prosecutors with a trove of valuable material, said Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor.

“The value of the Mazars documents is not in the disclosure of tax returns: that is available to law enforcement from the tax authorities,” said Weissmann, an NBC News legal analyst who previously led the prosecution of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

“Accounting records enable a prosecutor to see how the reported tax numbers were calculated. The underlying data is key to proving criminal intent, as it was in the Manafort investigation.”

Manafort was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a range of offenses, including bank and tax fraud; Trump pardoned him in December.

Once Vance has the documents, experts said the forensic accountants that Vance’s office hired for the case, FTI Consulting, will likely set out to build an expansive timeline using Trump’s tax records, bank documents and communications between banks and his tax preparers.

They will zero in on any discrepancies between the information presented to banks and those provided to tax authorities, according to the former prosecutors. Trump has been accused by his former lawyer Michael Cohen and others of inflating his assets when seeking a loan and devaluing them in statements to the government to avoid taxes.

“The tax returns can also help illuminate whether other financial documents are false,” said Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and NBC News legal analyst.

“If the value of a particular property is low on a tax return (to avoid taxes) but high on a loan application (to demonstrate credit worthiness) that certainly raises questions.”

Court filings indicate that Vance is pursuing a broad investigation that includes the possible falsifying of business records as well as insurance and tax fraud.

Among the Trump assets known to be under scrutiny already is Seven Springs estate, a sprawling property in Westchester County, N.Y. Vance subpoenaed documents from three towns that the property runs through after New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of the 213-acre spread and three other properties in order to receive loans, as well as tax benefits from the donation of a conservation easement.

Will the investigation focus only on paperwork?

No. Witnesses will be crucial to the investigation — anyone who had a hand in preparing the documents or has any knowledge of potential misrepresentations.

“The problem for prosecutors is that there are likely many layers between Trump and his tax return — accountants and bookkeepers and lawyers who all had some role in compiling the returns and valuing assets,” Rosenberg said.

“These multiple layers require lots of work and lots of interviews by agents and prosecutors to figure out how the returns were assembled and if they are demonstrably and intentionally false. This was not Trump with a laptop on TurboTax, and so it will take some time.”

Vance’s prosecutors will almost certainly seek to “flip” certain witnesses who may have criminal exposure, the former prosecutors said. Getting an insider to plead guilty and agree to cooperate in the investigation could be pivotal, Weissmann said.

“Documents alone are rarely enough to prove a criminal case,” Weissmann added. “They can be powerful corroboration, but a cooperating insider or tape recordings are needed to meet that standard of proof.”

How long could this process take?
Several months, at least.

Trump’s tax records, some of which were previously obtained by The New York Times, are known to be highly complex. Even with a team of investigators working around the clock, it will likely take a long time for them to develop a comprehensive understanding of Trump’s financial records, the former prosecutors said.

Potential complicating factors may include subjective line items that might seem unusual but may not be clear indicators of wrongdoing.

For instance, the experts said Trump or his corporation may value one of his properties at one amount and prosecutors might come to a different amount but that may not be enough to prove fraud.

Instead of trying to prove a complex tax evasion case, Rosenberg and Weissmann said prosecutors are more likely to focus on clear cut cases of intentional misrepresentations.

“Something like the purposeful omission of a foreign bank account, for instance,” Rosenberg said. “A criminal tax case almost never turns on more esoteric tax provisions like depreciation schedules or net operating loss carryforward rules.”

What about the Stormy Daniels episode?

Vance’s investigation was launched after it was disclosed that Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claim that she had an affair with Trump, an allegation he has denied.

But court filings indicate that the case extends well beyond the payments to Daniels.

Since the payment to Daniels involved a federal election — the 2016 presidential contest — it’s unlikely that Trump faces any campaign finance exposure in the Vance case, experts said. But depending on how the payment was recorded by Trump or the Trump Organization, investigators are likely to scrutinize it for potential tax filing violations, according to the former prosecutors.

February 23rd, 2021, 11:39 PM	#14
scoundrel Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 26,589 Thanks: 163,588 Thanked 282,672 Times in 26,532 Posts	Mr Trump is a private citizen now and the judicial process will do its work. Nothing we say here will affect the outcome either way - we merely observe and comment, like the chorus in an Ancient Greek tragedy. No doubt he has made many enemies and plenty of them are here - but the decisions will be according to due process, as is required by natural as well as statutory justice. __________________

February 24th, 2021, 01:07 AM	#15
Baxter49 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 7,410 Thanks: 14,584 Thanked 47,250 Times in 7,165 Posts	Canada's leader took a dig at Trump on Tuesday, CNN reported North Korea's leader was offered a ride on AF1 from Vietnam by Trump a few years ago. **************************************** https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/23/polit...ess/index.html Pence speaks highly of Trump in meeting and plans to launch a political group (CNN)Former Vice President Mike Pence told a group of conservative lawmakers on Tuesday that he maintains a close personal friendship with former President Donald Trump, while noting that he plans to launch a political organization that will defend their administration's record over the past four years. Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, told CNN that a group of members met at Pence's transition office in the Washington area on Tuesday afternoon, talking about the way forward for their party while also touting the accomplishments of the past. Pence harbored no ill will towards Trump over the January 6 riot, where pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol with many looking for Pence who was presiding over the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory. In fact, Trump's actions ahead of the riot "never came up," Banks said. "He spoke very favorably about his relationship with President Trump," Banks told CNN. "I got the sense they speak often and maintain the same personal friendship and relationship now that they have for four years." CNN reported Monday that Pence and Trump have spoken twice since the inauguration last month, according to a knowledgeable source who described their relationship as "amicable." Banks said that he expected Pence -- who declined an invitation to speak at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Florida -- to be more visible in the months to come. "He'll be launching an organization defending the successful Trump-Pence record of the last four years," Banks said.. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ion-if-he-runs Romney Says Trump Would Win 2024 GOP Nomination If He Runs “He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party,” Romney said at a New York Times DealBook virtual event on Tuesday. “I don’t know if he’s planning to run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m pretty sure he would win the nomination.” The two wings of the GOP -- traditionalists like Romney and Trump loyalists -- are struggling over the party’s future. Trump has continued to exert a strong hold on Republican voters. A plurality of them, 46%, said they would abandon the GOP and join a Trump-led party if he were to create one, according to a USA Today/Suffolk poll conducted last week. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House Republican, said in a speech earlier Tuesday that Republicans must acknowledge the damage done by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, and his encouragement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following that Jan. 6 assault, which left five people dead. Read More: Cheney Says Republicans Need to Recognize Damage Done by Trump Asked whether he would campaign against Trump if he were to run, Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, responded: “I would not be voting for him.” Last edited by Baxter49; February 24th, 2021 at 01:14 AM..

February 25th, 2021, 03:16 PM	#16
Baxter49 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 7,410 Thanks: 14,584 Thanked 47,250 Times in 7,165 Posts	https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ma...ht-01614269247 Manhattan prosecutor obtains copies of Trump tax records after long fight NEW YORK (AP) — A New York prosecutor has obtained copies of Donald Trump’s tax records after the Supreme Court this week rejected the former president’s last-ditch effort to prevent them from being handed over. The Manhattan district attorney’s office enforced a subpoena on Trump’s accounting firm within hours of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday and now has the documents in hand, a spokesperson for the office, Danny Frost, said Thursday. ************************************8 https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/25/polit...ily/index.html Trump plots future -- and revenge -- from sunny Florida links CNN)In a South Florida war room, occupied most days by a party of one, a former President of the United States is plotting his return -- and his revenge. He typically spends mornings on his nearby golf course, making and taking calls from a golf cart that doubles as his mobile, and self-driven, office. The multiple trips to the links in the last few weeks have served to accomplish a long-promised goal, says someone who spent time with him recently: Donald Trump claims he has increased his drive by 20 yards, a new favorite brag to golfing partners, or anyone who will listen. Eighteen holes later, he leaves his Trump International Golf Club and returns to Mar-a-Lago, where he retreats within his quarters to his own private living space, separate from that of his wife, and ponders two main questions: Who is with him? And who is against him? According to multiple people familiar with Trump's current habits, who requested anonymity to speak freely to CNN about the former President's day-to-day focus, his stated goal -- barring impact from ongoing criminal investigation -- is to run for president again, in 2024. Of course, he has no incentive to rule it out right now -- keeping himself in the mix helps sustain his kingmaker role. Looking to flex on 2022, he hopes to prove to both critics and supporters that he is the GOP's most effective puppeteer -- a role he will likely remind the party of during his weekend appearance at Conservative Political Action Conference. His short-term goal includes watching his son Donald Trump Jr., the MAGA base's fervent mouthpiece, barnstorm his way across the country on behalf of Trump loyalists and supporters for midterms. "Once 2022 kicks into high gear, expect Don (Trump Jr.) to be an extremely active presence on the campaign trail," a person who works with Trump Jr. told CNN, confirming not only the younger Trump's taste for political battle but that of the former President, as well. Donald Trump's influence on the elections is becoming clearer by the day. Just Tuesday, former Sen. David Perdue announced that he will not launch a campaign, though he had very recently filed papers to do so. The decision follows close on the heels of Perdue's recent visit to Palm Beach, where he played golf with Trump, says a person familiar with the Georgia Republican's schedule. On Tuesday evening, according to The Washington Post, Trump held court with Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. The quest, say those familiar with the visits and calls of varying Republican politicos, is to feel out where the former President's head is on the party's future, and whether he feels inclined to assist or oppose a particular person. "We've seen this for years now -- Trumpian offers of encouragement that are more like the mafioso 'nice little business you have here' threats," says Doug Heye, a longtime Republican strategist and consultant who formerly worked in senior communications roles for leadership on Capitol Hill. "The problem for these candidates moving forward is that despite always hustling to score points, Donald Trump doesn't give points, he only takes them away. One at a time." One person familiar with Trump's activities at Mar-a-Lago says he's more and more acting as CEO of the club, involved in operations, renovations and membership. For a time, his Palm Beach neighbors expressed disdain that Trump would be living mere blocks from their multimillion-dollar mansions -- a disruption they no longer wished to endure after the last four years of security and privacy challenges. "I really don't think most Palm Beachers are even thinking about Trump any longer. He really never leaves his two clubs," said Laurence Leamer, a part-time Palm Beach resident and author of two tell-alls about the area, "Madness Under the Royal Palms" and "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace." Trump is habitual, which makes it all the easier for those who want to find him, to seek his blessing or beg forgiveness for turning their backs, a practice Heye thinks will only increase in the months to come. "For many, the fealty never ends. But part of Trump's bet when his campaign became serious was that the party would bend to him, he would not bend to the party. He was right," he said. Last edited by Baxter49; February 25th, 2021 at 03:26 PM..*

February 26th, 2021, 02:30 AM	#20
Baxter49 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 7,410 Thanks: 14,584 Thanked 47,250 Times in 7,165 Posts	https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...-just-n1258876 Prosecutors just got millions of pages of Trump documents. His taxes are only the beginning. The records are likely to offer New York investigators a revealing look into the former president’s business dealings, experts say. The criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s financial dealings is entering a new and potentially perilous phase for the former president. Trump had fought for more than a year to keep his records out of the hands of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. But after a Supreme Court decision this week cleared the way for the documents' release, they have been given to Vance’s investigators. Now comes the hard part, according to former prosecutors. Vance has enlisted outside experts, including a forensic consulting firm, to help pore over the vast collection of records in search of any improprieties. “This is an exercise in very, very detailed digging in areas that are, for most of us, very arcane,” said Anthony Siano, who worked on financial fraud cases in his 14 years as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “There’s no magic to this,” added Siano, who is now a defense lawyer. “It’s incredibly tedious work.” What will the investigators be looking for? The materials that Trump fought to keep secret go far beyond his tax returns. Mazars USA, Trump's longtime accounting firm, was expected to turn over “any and all statements of financial condition, annual statements, periodic financial reports, and independent auditors’ reports,” according to court documents. Several million pages of documents were handed over to Vance’s office when the subpoena was enforced on Monday, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. The records are likely to provide prosecutors with a trove of valuable material, said Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor. “The value of the Mazars documents is not in the disclosure of tax returns: that is available to law enforcement from the tax authorities,” said Weissmann, an NBC News legal analyst who previously led the prosecution of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. “Accounting records enable a prosecutor to see how the reported tax numbers were calculated. The underlying data is key to proving criminal intent, as it was in the Manafort investigation.” Manafort was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a range of offenses, including bank and tax fraud; Trump pardoned him in December. Once Vance has the documents, experts said the forensic accountants that Vance’s office hired for the case, FTI Consulting, will likely set out to build an expansive timeline using Trump’s tax records, bank documents and communications between banks and his tax preparers. They will zero in on any discrepancies between the information presented to banks and those provided to tax authorities, according to the former prosecutors. Trump has been accused by his former lawyer Michael Cohen and others of inflating his assets when seeking a loan and devaluing them in statements to the government to avoid taxes. “The tax returns can also help illuminate whether other financial documents are false,” said Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and NBC News legal analyst. “If the value of a particular property is low on a tax return (to avoid taxes) but high on a loan application (to demonstrate credit worthiness) that certainly raises questions.” Court filings indicate that Vance is pursuing a broad investigation that includes the possible falsifying of business records as well as insurance and tax fraud. Among the Trump assets known to be under scrutiny already is Seven Springs estate, a sprawling property in Westchester County, N.Y. Vance subpoenaed documents from three towns that the property runs through after New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of the 213-acre spread and three other properties in order to receive loans, as well as tax benefits from the donation of a conservation easement. Will the investigation focus only on paperwork? No. Witnesses will be crucial to the investigation — anyone who had a hand in preparing the documents or has any knowledge of potential misrepresentations. “The problem for prosecutors is that there are likely many layers between Trump and his tax return — accountants and bookkeepers and lawyers who all had some role in compiling the returns and valuing assets,” Rosenberg said. “These multiple layers require lots of work and lots of interviews by agents and prosecutors to figure out how the returns were assembled and if they are demonstrably and intentionally false. This was not Trump with a laptop on TurboTax, and so it will take some time.” Vance’s prosecutors will almost certainly seek to “flip” certain witnesses who may have criminal exposure, the former prosecutors said. Getting an insider to plead guilty and agree to cooperate in the investigation could be pivotal, Weissmann said. “Documents alone are rarely enough to prove a criminal case,” Weissmann added. “They can be powerful corroboration, but a cooperating insider or tape recordings are needed to meet that standard of proof.” How long could this process take? Several months, at least. Trump’s tax records, some of which were previously obtained by The New York Times, are known to be highly complex. Even with a team of investigators working around the clock, it will likely take a long time for them to develop a comprehensive understanding of Trump’s financial records, the former prosecutors said. Potential complicating factors may include subjective line items that might seem unusual but may not be clear indicators of wrongdoing. For instance, the experts said Trump or his corporation may value one of his properties at one amount and prosecutors might come to a different amount but that may not be enough to prove fraud. Instead of trying to prove a complex tax evasion case, Rosenberg and Weissmann said prosecutors are more likely to focus on clear cut cases of intentional misrepresentations. “Something like the purposeful omission of a foreign bank account, for instance,” Rosenberg said. “A criminal tax case almost never turns on more esoteric tax provisions like depreciation schedules or net operating loss carryforward rules.” What about the Stormy Daniels episode? Vance’s investigation was launched after it was disclosed that Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claim that she had an affair with Trump, an allegation he has denied. But court filings indicate that the case extends well beyond the payments to Daniels. Since the payment to Daniels involved a federal election — the 2016 presidential contest — it’s unlikely that Trump faces any campaign finance exposure in the Vance case, experts said. But depending on how the payment was recorded by Trump or the Trump Organization, investigators are likely to scrutinize it for potential tax filing violations, according to the former prosecutors.