Mediaboss Marketing

All the while, the contributions continued: Mr. Trump gave to the P.A.L. and to the D.A. himself. In his 1985 re-election race, as Mr. Morgenthau faced an early challenge from the civil rights lawyer C. Vernon Mason, Mr. Trump gave $5,000 the campaigns second-largest contribution. In 2005, Mr. Trump hosted a fund-raiser for the D.A. at Trump Tower. In part, Mr. Trump agreed to host the event because a rumor had reached the D.A. that Mr. Trumps sons were raising funds for Leslie Crocker Snyder, Mr. Morgenthaus challenger.

The prosecutors who led Mr. Morgenthaus investigations division across the decades were, as of late, emphatic in their defense, explaining why the office never began a full-scale investigation of Mr. Trumps business: Why didnt Morgenthau do anything? Because there was nothing to do, said Michael Cherkasky, his investigations chief for six years. The assistants, like their former boss, blamed the political process. You have to raise money to run for D.A., said Mr. Cherkasky. You ask people for money, and you cant do anything in return for it. Theres no favors. Theres no nothing.

The P.A.L. was the beginning, but Mr. Trump gave his biggest check to the other charity Mr. Morgenthau chaired. In 2012, Mr. Trump gave $100,000 to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, only after the D.A. complained that Mr. Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, a new museum board member and the scion of Kushner Companies, the family real estate company, had failed to make good on a promised donation. Mr. Morgenthau knew Mr. Kushner: He interned in the D.A.s office in 2004, the summer his father was arrested on federal charges. Nasty piece of work, the D.A. said of the younger Kushner: I had to kick him off the board.

LAST MONTH I returned to the D.A.s office to speak about Mr. Morgenthaus tenure and legacy. I told the prosecutors in the audience including those leading the investigation of the 45th president that from all Id learned about the D.A. and his relations with Mr. Trump, there was no mystery and no smoking gun. Their relationship made perfect sense.

Each saw opportunity in the other: The D.A., ever expedient in his drive to fund his favored causes, needed the checks, and the real estate man, ever eager to antagonize a business foe, sought an ally in law enforcement. The D.A. would not serve as a shield but more as a decoy for Mr. Trump, who could use his proximity to Mr. Morgenthaus power to enhance his own reputation. The D.A. had a blind spot when it came to Mr. Trump, one he would recognize years later. In his final years, Mr. Morgenthau witnessed a new blood lust demonization of immigrants and people of color, the rise of white supremacy and was taken aback. One morning in the spring before his death, I asked Mr. Morgenthau what his greatest fear was, and he did not hesitate to answer: Trump.

Go here to read the rest:
Opinion | Donald Trumps History with Manhattan D.A. Office - The New York Times