海角大神

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. fought for a year and a half to get access to former President Donald Trump鈥檚 tax records.

Now, thanks to a United States Supreme Court ruling,聽he will soon have them. But what will that mean for the Democrat鈥檚 grand jury investigation into Mr. Trump鈥檚 business affairs?

Former prosecutors say the trove of records could give investigators new tools to determine whether Mr. Trump lied to lenders or tax officials, before or after he took office.

鈥淧rosecutors look for discrepancies in paperwork. For example, if Mr. Trump told the IRS he鈥檚 broke and lenders that he鈥檚 rich, that鈥檚 just the type of discrepancy they could build a case around,鈥� said Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor who worked on a wide range of white collar cases as Mr. Vance鈥檚 chief of asset forfeiture.

鈥淭hese documents are a very important piece of the jigsaw puzzle,鈥� Mr. Levin said.

Whether Mr. Trump鈥檚 records will contain evidence of a crime is uncertain. The former president, a Republican, has argued for years that he broke no laws and has been聽unfairly targeted by Democrats for political reasons.

Here is a look at where the tax records might be helpful, and where they might not help much, in the district attorney鈥檚 investigation:

More than just returns

Mr. Trump went to extraordinary lengths to keep his federal income tax returns from becoming public, but those aren鈥檛 the only valuable documents included聽in this haul.

Mr. Trump鈥檚 accounting firm, Mazars USA, is supposed to turn over not only the final versions of Mr. Trump鈥檚 tax returns, but also draft versions of those returns and 鈥渁ny and all statements of financial condition, annual statements, periodic financial reports, and independent auditors鈥� reports鈥� held by the company.

The Mazars subpoena also sought engagement agreements that define the accountants鈥� role in creating the tax returns and financial statements; source documents providing the accountants with raw financial data; and work papers and communications between the firm and Mr. Trump鈥檚 representatives. Those would include communications聽showing how the raw data was analyzed and treated in the preparation of the records.

That could give state prosecutors an 鈥渙pen book鈥� into Mr. Trump鈥檚 finances, said Adam D. Citron, a former state prosecutor and partner at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the kitchen sink.鈥�

Examining those other documents could be key to determining whether Mr. Trump or his companies gave tax authorities different information about his income than they presented to other officials, like banks and business partners.

Hush money

When the district attorney鈥檚 investigation first began, one of the initial subpoenas sent to the Trump Organization asked for information about payments Mr. Trump鈥檚 former lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged to women who had claimed to have had extramarital sexual encounters with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Cohen has said Mr. Trump鈥檚 company聽later reimbursed him for one of those payments, to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, disguising it in the form of a legal fees.

It isn鈥檛 clear, though, whether Mr. Trump鈥檚 tax records will add much to that part of the probe. The New York Times, which obtained years of Mr. Trump鈥檚 tax data, wrote that it contained 鈥渘o new revelations鈥� about the payment to Ms. Daniels and didn鈥檛 include any itemized payments to Mr. Cohen.

Tax breaks

The district attorney鈥檚 office has been investigating some of the arrangements Mr. Trump made to reduce his tax bill. Data in the returns could be essential聽in analyzing whether any of those maneuvers crossed legal lines.

One of the breaks under scrutiny is the one that Mr. Trump got for聽donating part of his Seven Springs estate, north of New York City, to a conservation trust. Some experts have questioned whether Mr. Trump overvalued the land to get a bigger break than he deserved.

Investigators have already subpoenaed and received many documents related to the land deal. Mr. Trump benefited from a similar conservation donation in California.

Statements to lenders

Mr. Vance鈥檚 office hasn鈥檛 disclosed the full nature of its inquiry. But in court filings, prosecutors have pointed to news articles that questioned whether Mr. Trump had chronically exaggerated the value of his assets to banks and insurance companies. The Associated Press reported last month that Mr. Vance鈥檚 office recently interviewed Mr. Cohen for hours, asking him, among other things, about Mr. Trump鈥檚 relationship with Deutsche Bank, his biggest and longest standing creditor.

One Washington Post story cited by prosecutors detailed how various Trump Organization financial disclosures inflated the number of home lots for sale at a California golf course, the acreage at one of his vineyards, and the number of stories in Trump Tower while excluding information about debts at his Chicago and Las Vegas hotel projects.

Tax records will only be one tool prosecutors will use to examine whether any of those statements amounted to fraud.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to look at valuations and property values,鈥� Mr. Citron said of state prosecutors. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l look at the billings of attorneys to see what their expenses were for.鈥�

Monday鈥檚 ruling does not ensure the public will see Mr. Trump鈥檚 financial records. For now, they are protected by grand jury secrecy rules. Even if charges are brought in the case, those documents likely would be heavily redacted if filed into the record.

鈥淓ven then, I鈥檓 sure there will be tons of litigation about that,鈥� Mr. Citron said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.