Trump calls New York criminal probe a ‘witch hunt’ and claims a poll shows he is the frontrunner in 2024

• The Manhattan District Attorney convened a grand jury on the Trump Organization probe.
• Trump called the investigation a "continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt."
• Last week, The New York attorney general's office said the investigation will now also be criminal.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Former President Donald Trump called the criminal probe into the Trump Organization's finances and whether they violated state laws a "continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History."

"It began the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower, and it's never stopped," Trump said in a press release.

His statement comes after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. convened a grand jury that will meet three days a week for six months to consider evidence on the case.

Last week, The New York attorney general's office announced that it was conducting a criminal probe into the Trump Organization. The civil case is also still ongoing.

The criminal probe came after it was revealed that Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, was interviewed multiple times by Manhattan District Attorney Letitia James.

"As more documents are reviewed by the NYAG and NYDA, it appears that the troubles for Donald Trump just keep on coming," Cohen told Insider about the criminal probe. "Soon enough, Donald and associates will be held responsible for their actions."

Vance also subpoenaed an elite private school attended by the Trump Organization chief financial officer's grandchildren and is reviewing documents like Trump's tax returns to see if the organization misled lenders about the value of their properties and paid appropriate taxes.

In his press release, the former president continued to allege that the election was stolen and said, "Interesting that today a poll came out indicating I'm far in the lead for the Republican Presidential Primary and the General Election in 2024."

It's not clear what poll the former president is referring to.

Polls have shown Trump as a favorable candidate among Republican voters for the primary, but his support within that group has been on the decline. While 54% of Republican voters said they'd support Trump in the primaries in a February Politico-Morning Consult poll, only 50% said they'd vote for him in a poll released last week.