FBI just launched an investigation into whether Ivanka and Trump Jr. bribed a District Attorney

The Trump family, with all its flagrant instances of tax evasion, conflicts of interest, and blatant corruption has somehow made it to this point without any major criminal consequences. Now, it appears that karma is finally catching up to them.

The New York Daily News reports that the FBI is now investigating a string of cases handled by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office which were dropped after lawyers connected to the suspects in the cases made donations to the campaign of District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. He and his staff are the targets of the FBI probe.

The FBI is working to discern whether or not the money constituted an in-kind bribe, peddling campaign donations for leniency. It’s still unclear whether criminal charges are being considered, but one of the more prominent cases of interest involves two of President Trump’s inept children.

DA Vance’s office was hit with criticism last year in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct saga when it was revealed that the DA’s office decided not to pursue charges against Weinstein after a woman accused the infamous film producer of groping her. It turned out that one of Weinstein’s attorneys had given $24,000 to Vance’s campaign. Another attorney gave him an additional $10,000 after Vance declined to go after Weinstein.

The pattern of suspicious behavior wasn’t relegated to just the Weinstein issue though. Vance also decided against bringing charges against Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., after they allegedly defrauded investors in the Trump SoHo property and lied to prospective investors about the volume of their condominium sales. Vance met with the Trumps’ attorney Marc Kasowitz, a man who had previously donated $25,000 to his campaign. Before the meeting, he decided to return the money.

Once Vance announced that he wouldn’t be pursuing the investigation into the two Trumps, Kasowitz donated an additional $32,000. Vance later returned this money as well, but only after a wave of backlash.

While it’s still unclear how the FBI probe will end, it’s mere existence is just another reminder that corruption follows the Trumps wherever they go, like slime behind a snail. Regardless of whether or not they face consequences for this incident, it’s clear that they and their father should be nowhere near the halls of national power.

Original reporting by Shayna Jacobs.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.