Trump slams NY criminal probes into his company, alleges 'corrupt,' politically motived efforts

Former President Trump on Wednesday responded to being informed a day earlier the New York Attorney General's Office has shifted its investigation into his Trump Organization from a  civil probe to a potentially criminal matter — alleging the investigation and one by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office are "corrupt" and politically motivated.  

"There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime," Trump said in a lengthy statement. "But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here." 

The attorney general's office said Tuesday it is now working with the district attorney's office, which already has a criminal probe, to "actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity." 

Trump has decried the investigations as part of a Democratic "witch hunt."

Attorney General Letitia James' civil investigation and District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s criminal probe are examining whether Trump or his businesses manipulated the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.

Vance's investigation also included a look at hush money payments paid to women on Trump's behalf and tax write-offs the Trump Organization claimed on millions of dollars in consulting fees, according to the Associated Press.

"The attorney general of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me," Trump said in the statement. "Likewise, the district attorney's office has been going after me for years based on 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."