周二民主党初选的获胜者选举因为曼哈顿地区检察官几乎肯定会继承对特朗普组织的高调和政治敏感的调查——这一可能性增加了对美国最令人垂涎的检察机关之一的激烈竞争的赌注。
对前总统的调查始于2018年唐纳德·特朗普的最近几周，随着即将离任的地方检察官小塞鲁斯·万斯权衡是否提起诉讼的决定，同名公司已经进入公众视野。
A特别大陪审团消息人士此前告诉美国广播公司新闻，万斯的办公室已经传唤了几名证人提供证词，因为它考虑是否有理由对这位前总统、他的公司或其任何雇员提出刑事指控。
熟悉调查的消息人士表示，万斯预计将在明年1月任期结束前决定如何推进此案，这可能会让他的继任者将任何起诉进行到底。
竞选接替万斯的八名民主党人在很大程度上回避了他们将如何处理这一充满政治色彩的案件的问题。但一些人承诺，如果特朗普组织或其任何员工被发现违法，将实施严厉的惩罚。
“在没有看到所有事实和证据的情况下，我不能说我会具体做什么，但如果唐纳德·特朗普或特朗普的任何一个人在曼哈顿犯下罪行，我会起诉他们，”公共辩护人候选人伊莱扎·奥林斯(Eliza Orlins)上个月告诉美联社。
纽约州议员丹·夸特告诉美联社，如果当选，如果有“严重犯罪的证据”，他将“当然起诉”
夸特说:“对总统来说是这样，对其他任何人来说也是这样。”。
11月，前助理地方检察官露西·朗在推特上写道，“没有人可以凌驾于法律之上。对唐纳德·特朗普的#曼哈顿达调查必须继续。”
除了奥林斯、夸特和郎，主要的检察官候选人包括前联邦检察官阿尔文·布拉格和程昕婷·法哈迪安·韦恩斯坦，民权律师塔哈尼·阿布什，以及前检察官伊丽莎白·克罗蒂和戴安娜·弗洛伦斯。
泰芬乔什昆/阿纳多卢机构通过盖蒂图像，文件
2020年2月24日，曼哈顿地区检察官小塞鲁斯·万斯在纽约的新闻发布会上发言。
由于纽约压倒性的民主党投票基础，周二初选的获胜者预计将在11月获胜。
万斯在3月份宣布，他在担任检察官12年后不会寻求连任。近三年前，在特朗普的前私人律师和调解人迈克尔·科恩的国会证词的推动下，万斯对特朗普组织展开了调查。
消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，调查的焦点之一包括特朗普是否夸大了某些房产的价值以获得银行贷款，并缩小了这些房产的价值以支付更低的税收。万斯曾两次向美国最高法院争取获得价值八年的特朗普个人和企业纳税申报表。
作为调查的一部分，万斯也一直在调查艾伦·维斯伯格的金融交易消息人士此前告诉美国广播公司新闻，特朗普组织的长期首席财务官——具体来说，除了工资之外，魏斯伯格还可能从特朗普家族获得哪些额外福利，以及是否为任何此类补偿支付了适当的税款。
特朗普认为调查是出于政治动机，并将其称为“美国历史上最大的政治迫害的延续”。
How the next Manhattan DA could impact the Trump investigation
The winner of Tuesday's Democratic primaryelectionfor Manhattan district attorney will almost certainly inherit a high-profile and politically sensitive probe into the Trump Organization -- a likelihood that raises the stakes in an already heated race for one of the nation's most coveted prosecutorial offices.
Launched in 2018, the burgeoning investigation into former presidentDonald Trump'snamesake firm has spilled into public view in recent weeks as outgoing district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. weighs the decision about whether or not to bring charges.
Aspecial grand juryimpaneled by Vance's office has already called several witnesses to provide testimony as it considers whether criminal charges are warranted against the former president, his company, or any of its employees, sources previously told ABC News.
Sources familiar with the investigation say that Vance is expected to decide how to move forward with the case before his term ends in January, which would likely leave his successor to see any prosecutions through to trial.
The eight Democrats running to replace Vance have largely deflected queries about how they would handle the politically fraught case. But several have pledged to enact tough penalties if the Trump Organization or any of its employees are found to have broken the law.
"While I can't say what I will specifically do without seeing all the facts and the evidence, if Donald Trump or any of the Trumps committed crimes in Manhattan, I will prosecute them," candidate Eliza Orlins, a public defender, told The Associated Press last month.
New York state assembly member Dan Quart told the AP that, if elected, he would "certainly prosecute" if there was "evidence a serious crime has been committed."
"That would be true for the president as much as it's true for anyone else," Quart said.
And in November, former assistant district attorney Lucy Lang tweeted, "No one is above the law. The #ManhattanDA investigations into Donald Trump must continue."
In addition to Orlins, Quart and Lang, the leading DA contenders include former federal prosecutors Alvin Bragg and Tali Farhadian Weinstein, civil rights lawyer Tahanie Aboushi, and former prosecutors Elizabeth Crotty and Diana Florence.
Because of New York's overwhelmingly Democratic voting base, the winner of Tuesday's primary is expected to sail to victory in November.
Vance, who announced in March that he would not seek reelection after 12 years as DA, launched his investigation into the Trump Organization nearly three years ago, spurred by the congressional testimony of Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.
One focus of the investigation includes whether Trump inflated the value of certain properties to obtain bank loans and deflated the value of those same properties to pay lower taxes, sources have told ABC News. Vance has twice fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to gain access to eight years' worth of Trump's personal and business tax returns.
As part of the probe, Vance has also been investigating thefinancial dealings of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's longtime chief financial officer -- specifically, what fringe benefits Weisselberg might have received from the Trumps in addition to his salary, and whether taxes were appropriately paid for any such compensation, sources have previously told ABC News.
Trump has dismissed the investigation as being politically motivated and has called it "a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history."
