Manhattan DA says Trump faces probe for 'insurance and bank fraud'

Aug. 3 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and his company face a probe for "insurance and bank fraud," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said Monday in a court filing seeking the president's tax returns.

The new filing in Manhattan Federal Court disclosed that Vance's investigation was broader than looking into the Trump Organization and hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sexual affairs with him, including Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

According to the filing, allegations of "insurance and bank fraud by the Trump Organization and its officers" are also being investigated.

A Supreme Court decision last month cleared the way for Vance to obtain eight years of tax returns to show the Manhattan grand jury, ruling that he was not entitled to immunity as a sitting president.

Still, the case was sent back to the district court where Trump has continued to fight against the New York grand jury subpoena, alleging that it's too broad.

Trump's complaint is based at least in part on the "false premise" that the probe is limited to the hush money payments, Carey Dunne, an attorney in Vance's office, wrote in the filing in response to Trump's fight against the subpoena.

The D.A. needs the tax returns "to assess whether a pattern of financial misconduct, for example, might violate state criminal law," Dunne added.