Trump's hush money nightmare ramps up as new prosecutors revive the Stormy Daniels case

Federal prosecutors appear to have wrapped up the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's criminal hush money payments for unknown reasons, potentially related to the Justice Department's policy against indicting a sitting president. But another team of prosecutors has picked up the case, and according to the New York Times, it has already subpoenaed the Trump Organization in its investigation.

The new probe was started by the district attorney's office in Manhattan.

These prosecutors can bring criminal charges based on state law, so they do not have the jurisdiction to bring a federal campaign finance case, which is what took down Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. He has pleaded guilty for illegally arranging hush money payments to two women, Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, on Donald Trump's behalf in the run-up to the 2016 election and in violation of campaign finance law.

But as the Times points out, the criminal hush money payments may have involved other illegal activity as well that Manhattan prosecutors could charge. It is a state crime, for example, to falsify business records. And some have argued that the Trump Organization and some of its executives may be implicated in such a crime when they reimbursed Cohen for the hush money he paid from his own funds.

These repayments were disguised as a legal retainer, Cohen has said.

Trump Organization lawyer Marc Mukasey seemed to confirm the existence of the investigation to the Times, calling it a “political hit job.”

He added: “It’s just harassment of the president, his family and his business, using subpoenas as weapons. We will respond as appropriate."