Ivanka, Don Jr. Were ‘Near Fraud Indictment’ Over Trump SoHo Until Curious Visit by Dad’s Lawyer

Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were reportedly near a criminal indictment in 2012 over what New York City prosecutors had deemed to be intentionally misleading information given to prospective buyers at the Trump SoHo hotel and condo development. However, the probe was mysteriously dropped after Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowicz, came to talk to Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., in a visit that followed the litigator’s $25,000 donation to the DA’s reelection campaign, according to a joint report published Wednesday by ProPublica, The New Yorker, and WNYC. Three months after the visit, the case was dropped. Among prosecutors’ evidence: emails from the now-president’s children, reportedly coordinating how to go forward with the knowingly deceptive information, according to four people who saw the documents. The Kasowicz donation was returned, but a larger check came months later. “I did not at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed,” Vance told The New Yorker. “I had to make a call and I made the call, and I think I made the right call.” The second contribution is now being returned, Vance said.