-The prosecutor
in a criminal investigation of Donald Trump's
business dealings has convened a grand jury
that could decide whether to indict Trump or
executives at his company. For more on this,
it's time for "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] For the four years
of Trump's presidency, we kept hearing
about the possibility that Trump could maybe
potentially, hypothetically face some
eventual legal consequences. There was the Mueller Report,
two impeachments, the Michael Cohen case, where he was essentially
an unindicted coconspirator. Every news story for four years
had a thin veneer of crime. You wouldn't have been
surprised to see a lower third on CNN that read, "Trump meets
with Polish President, who claims
his wallet is missing." Or how about
the emoluments clause? Remember that --
when we all had to learn what an emolument was --
a completely useless piece of information we all
had to store in our brains, because the framers'
worst nightmare, a shady real-estate grifter with business dealings
in foreign countries, accidentally became president? If you asked Benjamin Franklin, "Is it cool if
a bunch of Saudi lobbyists stay at the president's hotel
to curry favor with him?" he'd be so shocked,
he'd probably fall off his French prostitute. So, we wasted all that time
learning about emoluments, only for the Supreme Court to
dismiss the case against Trump after he left office.
They basically said, "Yeah, we, uh -- we stopped
prosecuting for that." You know, it's like
when you go to Subway and demand a $5 Footlong,
only for them to say, "We don't do that anymore."
So you say, "Well, has anything else around here
changed I should know about?" And then they whisper,
"Have you heard about Jared?" And you say, "No!",
even though you have heard, because you still want to
hear them tell it. The point is, Trump has been
in potential legal hot water for a while now,
as evidenced not just by his own criminal probe
but all the criminals, or alleged criminals,
surrounding him. -The immediate past President
of the United States had to pardon
his campaign manager, had to pardon his longest-
standing political adviser, had to pardon his
national security adviser, had to pardon
his foreign policy adviser, had to pardon the deputy chair
of his inaugural, and his deputy campaign chairman
went to prison, and his personal lawyer
went to prison, and his other personal lawyer is under federal
criminal investigation, and he himself personally
is named by prosecutors as an unindicted coconspirator
in multiple federal felonies. And he himself personally is
currently, as we speak, under active criminal
investigation in two states. -it's just basic logic
that if you're surrounded at all times
by that many criminals, there's a solid chance
you're also a criminal. You never hear someone
onstage at a concert say, "That's Doug on the bass;
give it up for Russell on rhythm guitar;
that's Mick on lead; that's Billy on keyboards; and me, oh, I'm not in a band.
I don't do music. Those guys do. Not me." But we're
in an unprecedented situation, where the previous president
is under at least two criminal investigations
in two different states, one of which has now reached
the grand-jury stage. If Obama
were under investigation, we'd be talking about that, too,
but he's not. The only news Obama makes
these days is showbiz-related. In fact, if you hear
about Obama investigations, it's probably a new show
on HBO Max. Fingers crossed, it doesn't
take place in Philly, too. "Now, I'm gonna tell you
who the killer is. But, first, I need
a glass of, uh, 'wooder.'" [ Laughter ] As for Trump, the only news
he makes today is what he issues
in an official statement, calling a horse a junkie,
or when one of the criminal investigations
on him takes a big step. And that's what we learned
last night. -We've got breaking news
in a criminal probe into the Trump Organization. "The Washington Post"
just breaking the news that the Manhattan
district attorney has convened a grand jury that could weigh
potential criminal charges against former President Trump
and his associates. From that "Washington Post"
report, the move indicates that
district attorney Cyrus Vance's investigation of the former
President and his business has reached an advanced stage,
after more than two years. It suggests, too,
that Vance believes he has found
evidence of a crime, if not by Trump, then
by someone potentially close to him
or by his company. -I mean, I'm just shocked
it took two years. Trump has arguably confessed
to multiple crimes in public, incited a violent insurrection,
been impeached twice, was an unindicted coconspirator
in a hush-money case, paid just $750
in federal Income taxes while he was president,
and did everything possible to hide his taxes
from public view. At this point, I wouldn't be
shocked if it turned out he tried to claim a deduction
for a bribe. I mean, what else do we need,
Trump to show up to a Fox interview
with a shovel and a shirt that says,
"I love burying bodies"? But, of course, Trump
is the last guy you'd want to trust
burying a body. Based on this video,
you'd be lucky if he covered part of one hand. "Did you fully cover him,
Donny?" "I mean, I think
I got it pretty good. I mean, I'd be a little worried
if they had dogs." So, there's a grand jury now.
That's news. But, again,
I'm not getting my hopes up. Remember how many times
we thought Trump was on the verge
of going down? Remember how everybody
at your gym was working out
in "Mueller Time" T-shirt, and now Goodwill
won't even take them? Trump always manages
to wriggle out of a jam. He's like
the David Blaine of crime. If he ever goes to trial,
he'll just regurgitate a frog that has "not guilty"
written on its back. If the feds come for him,
he'll hide out in a glass box over the Thames. That said, we do know
that even before this latest news,
there have been some pretty serious developments
in this case. The Manhattan D.A.
got Trump's taxes, the New York state
attorney general joined the criminal case,
and prosecutors met with Trump's former fixer,
Michael Cohen, at least eight times.
I mean, I bet they got everything they needed
the first time and then just kept bringing him
back for the zingers. -I think Donald Trump is gonna
flip on all of them. What do you think about that?
Including his children. So he's gonna
turn on his accountant and point the finger.
He's gonna say, "Don Jr. Handled that,
Ivanka handled that. Melania --
Don't take me, take Melania." -Man, Michael Cohen is just
a totally different guy now. Loose, confident,
laughing it up, having fun. He used to be the terrifying
mob-style bag man, and now he's coming off
like a shipwrecked Ray Romano. "Oh, I don't know,
Trump would say, I don't know,
'Ah, fix this for me.' I-I-I can't.
You know, I got a tee time. [ Laughter ]
"Raymond." You know?
[ Laughter ] Oh, you can't write the
Brad Garrett impression in, Dave.
[ Laughter ] I also totally believe that Trump would throw
his family under the bus. You think he named
his eldest son after himself for sentimental reasons?
He did it so there'd be a second Donald Trump
to pin the blame on. "He's the one you want. That's why he's
hiding out in the woods." I mean, look at that.
They caught him because he waited
for someone else to come and build him a Unabomber cabin. And I have no trouble believing
he'd flip on Melania, too. "Mel! Mel, the feds are here. They want to know why you
committed all that tax fraud. She'll be right down.
Just give her a second. Mel, why are you
flushing the toilet? Is it evidence, Mel? I know you don't go potty
when people are in the house. She loves destroying evidence.
That's a serious charge, too. She's gonna go away
for a while, huh? I'm gonna miss her.
Mel? I hope --
Those are big handcuffs. They're gonna come right off
her lady wrists. Oh, no, are those for me?" [ Laughter ] But Cohen is actually
a key figure here, because, as you may recall,
he testified to Congress that Trump had lied about
the value of his properties for tax or insurance purposes. Cohen even named specific people
in the Trump Organization with knowledge of
Trump's practices. -To your knowledge,
did the president ever provide inflated assets
to an insurance company? -Yes. -Who else knows that
the president did this? -Allen Weisselberg,
Ron Lieberman, and Matthew Calamari. -Remember that, you guys,
when we all found out about the existence of a guy
named Matthew Calamari? A name that sounds like
a Super Mario rip-off your grandma would buy
at the dollar store? That's his actual name.
When I first heard it, I thought it was
a Mafia nickname, like "Paulie Walnuts."
"This is a guy, Matthew D'Angelo,
AKA Matthew Calamari." Sounds like a character
that got cut from the "SpongeBob" musical. I have no idea
who Matthew Calamari is, but based on his name alone,
I can tell the feds exactly where to find him --
slipping $6 in singles to the maître d' at Del Frisco's to get a table
by the air-conditioner. "Hey, let's not have fried
Calamari tonight, alright?" The other guy
Cohen mentioned there is Trump's money man,
Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer
of the Trump Organization. The prosecutors are apparently
focused on Weisselberg. And when asked if he would
potentially flip on Trump, Weisselberg's
ex-daughter-in-law, who has said she's also cooperated
with the investigation, did not hesitate. -One person now cooperating
with the investigations into Weisselberg
and the Trump Organization is on your screen there -- Allen Weisselberg's former
daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who was married
to Weisselberg's son Barry for 14 years,
until their divorce in 2018. Jennifer Weisselberg's lawyer
says she has 25 years of financial records, some of which
have been subpoenaed. Will Allen Weisselberg
flip on Trump? -Yes. -wow, I mean, no hesitation at all
with your answer there. -No hesitation at all? I'm guessing,
when you work for Trump, you start thinking
about flipping as soon as you get the gig.
It's like when you're in the middle of a job interview
at Little Caesars and you're already fantasizing
about how you're gonna quit. "You can take this job
and shove it, shove it." [ Laughter ] "Trump's inner circle flips more than the short-order cook
at IHOP." Hey, here's the thing, guys. You want to take away
my Vince Vaughn, you're gonna get
a little Dennis Miller and a little Ray Romano.
That's the trade-off. I'm not gonna just
stop with the impressions, because -- guess what? --
I don't like my voice that much. [ Laughter ] Cohen went on to explain
that Trump... [ Laughter ] Cohen went on to explain
that Trump deflated the value of his assets in order
to avoid paying taxes on them. -To your knowledge,
was the president interested in reducing his local
real-estate bills -- tax bills? -Yes.
-And how did he do that? -What you do is you deflate
the value of the asset, and then you put in a request
to the tax department for a deduction. -"Trump's assets
are more deflated than a lawn Santa
on January 10th." [ Laughter ] "Raymond, I don't get it."
[ Laughter ] There's a good chance
that Cohen's testimony was the first time Trump heard
that scheme explained in such specific detail.
"That's how you do it? Oh, well,
that sounds very illegal." And according
to "The Washington Post," that's precisely
one of the things prosecutors are looking into. -His investigators
are scrutinizing Trump's business practices
before he was president, including whether the value
of specific properties in the Trump Organization's
real-estate portfolio were manipulated in a way that defrauded banks and
insurance companies and if any tax benefits
were obtained illegally through unscrupulous
asset valuation. -In addition to being
a potential crime, unscrupulous asset valuation
sounds like something Trump would put under
"interests" on his Tinder bio. You know, one thing I've
always thought was so funny about Trump's legal troubles is, that if Trump
hadn't run for president, he probably would have gotten
away with all of this stuff -- defrauding banks,
deflating assets. Rich people get away
with that stuff all the time. And the banks just shrug
and raise our ATM fees. No one cared
about Trump's tax returns when he was just
a cable news blowhard who called in to "Fox & Friends"
to shoot the [Bleep] or spent his time tweeting
about Diet Coke. But Trump had to go and run
for president like a moron and attract the attention
of prosecutors scrutinizing every aspect
of his life and business, which is not a good idea when you're famously
a corrupt real-estate mogul and reality-show host,
surrounded by shady characters. Like, I don't want to
make any assumptions, but if Mystery the pickup artist
ran for president, I'm pretty sure they'd find
some weird stuff in his tax returns, too. Hey, mystery, under "Income,"
it just says, "Women love
the scent of confidence." What does that mean? "It means Venus is
the goddess of love." Okay, and under "Assets,"
all you have listed are a bunch of puka shell necklaces? "And?"
[ Laughter ] This is
an unprecedented situation. Virtually the entirety of one of
our two political parties has devoted itself
to a corrupt ex-president who is currently under an intensifying
criminal investigation which has now reached
the grand-jury stage. Trump is talking about running
for president again in 2024, but if he's in jail,
he might have to tell the GOP... -"Don't take me, take Melania." -This has been "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] God's Love We Deliver
cooks and brings over 2 million meals a year
to men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer,
and other serious illnesses, and they need your help
now more than ever. If you're watching this online,
you can hit the Donate button. Stay safe, wear a mask,
get vaccinated. We love you.
