Trump slams prosecutors for criminal investigations into his business and family

Former president accuses investigators of being ‘in desperate search of a crime’

Donald Trump slammed prosecutors for what he called their “desperate” criminal investigations into his business and family in a new 900-word statement.

The former president reacted angrily to the New York attorney general’s confirmation that its probe into the Trump Organization is now a criminal one.

Mr Trump said that he had “just learned, through leaks in the mainstream media” of the investigation, despite the attorney general’s office saying that it had directly informed the Trump Organization.

“There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime. But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here,” he said.

He then attacked New York attorney general Letitia James, who he claimed “literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.”

Mr Trump then also criticised Ms James for “going after me” through his former fixer, Michael Cohen, whom he described as “a lying, discredited low life, who was not listened to or given credibility by other prosecutorial offices, and sentenced to three years in prison for lying and other events unrelated to me.”

“These investigations have also been going on for years with members and associates of the Trump Organization being viciously attacked, harassed, and threatened, in order to say anything bad about the 45th President of the United States,” he added.

And he accused prosectors of trying to prevent him from running for the White House again in 2024.

“That is what these investigations are all about — a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of the United States,” he said.

“Working in conjunction with Washington, these Democrats want to silence and cancel millions of voters because they don’t want ‘Trump’ to run again.”

The one-term president also claimed that New York prosecutors were only going after him becasue those in Washington had failed.

“After prosecutorial efforts the likes of which nobody has ever seen before, they failed to stop me in Washington, so they turned it over to New York to do their dirty work,” he said.

“This is what I have been going through for years. It’s a very sad and dangerous tale for our Country, but it is what it is, and we will overcome together.”

Mr Trump, who referred to himself in the third person seven times in the lengthy statement posted on his blog, added: “I have built a great company, employed thousands of people, and all I do is get unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system.”

And he told prosecutors that if they “focused on real issues, crime would be obliterated, and New York would be great and free again!”

The New York attorney general’s investigation is running parallel to one being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance.

Earlier this year Mr Vance’s investigators won access to Mr Trump’s personal and business tax returns, which he had fought to keep secret and has refused to make public like previous presidents.