Calamari is the son of the company’s chief operating officer, Matthew Calamari Sr., a longtime Trump deputy who is also under scrutiny by Manhattan district attorney prosecutors. The young Calamari received transactional immunity for the issues on which he testified, in accordance with New York state law. The decision to take him to the grand jury indicates that prosecutors have no plans to charge him.
“He appeared today, was immunized and testified truthfully, all of which are required by law,” attorney Nick Gravante said of Calamari Jr. in a statement after the appearance. “He’s a model citizen, he’s never broken any laws and he’s happy to have that distraction behind him.”
Calamari Jr. and his father have been subject to scrutiny by prosecutors over whether they properly paid taxes on subsidized rents and the cars they received as benefits to the company, CNN has previously reported.
In recent weeks, the district attorney’s office has pressured Calamari Sr., known to be a fierce and loyal employee of the former president, to cooperate and discussions have continued between prosecutors and his lawyer, said one of the people.
A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
McConney, who previously testified before the grand jury, was called back to appear Thursday and was expected to be asked to clarify the testimony and answer questions about Mr. Calamari. McConney’s lawyer declined to comment.
Trump attorney Ronald Fischetti said Thursday in a statement that he is confident that Calamari Jr. and McConney “have nothing to say to help the DA case.”
“We are pleased that Matt Calamari Jr. is joining the grand jury and has immunity. We want him to join the grand jury and tell the truth,” Fischetti said, considering the investigation to be “purely political.”
CNN’s Erica Orden and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.