Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump on election night.Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
New York Attorney GeneralLetitia Jamesis increasing pressure on former PresidentDonald Trumpand his children to cooperate in an investigation into the Trump Organization’s finances, as the family says the probe is baseless.
In a statement issued Tuesday, James' office said it filed paperwork to request a judge to force Trump, 75, his sonDonald Trump Jr., 44, and daughterIvanka Trump, 40, to testify.
The former president’s adult childrenpreviously asked a judge to quashwhat they called an “unprecedented and unconstitutional” bid for their testimony after being subpoenaed in December.
“Each of the individuals was directly involved in one or more transactions under review,” the attorney general’s office said.
Trump’s middle son,Eric Trump, who serves as an executive vice president at Trump Organization, was also subpoenaed earlier and testified in 2020.
“For more than two years, the Trump Organization has used delay tactics and litigation in an attempt to thwart a legitimate investigation into its financial dealings,” James said in a statement. “Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit.”
Donald Trump (left), Letitia James.Doug Mills-Pool/Getty; Richard Drew/AP/Shutterstock
In the filing, the attorney general alleges that the Trump organization’s financial statements were “inaccurate or misleading” when it came to the value of certain assets.
“The only one misleading the public is Letitia James,” Trump spokeswomanLiz Harrington said in a statementthat accused the attorney general, who ran as a Democrat in 2018, of going after the former president for political reasons.
“Three years later she is now faced with the stark reality that she has no case,” Harrington said.
“In light of the pervasive and repeated nature of the misstatements and omissions, it appears that the valuations in the Statements were generally inflated as part of a pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared,” the document reads.
In one example, the attorney general’s office said the Trump Organization counted $150,000 in initiation fees for membership at its Westchester, New York, golf club in 2011 but “records indicate that many members paid no deposit for their memberships” that year.
Another example is the Trump Park Avenue property, which the attorney general’s office says was valued between $135 and $350 million between 2001 and 2020.
Paul Morigi/WireImage
For one unit in the building, “Ivanka Trumpheld an option to purchase an apartment she was renting for $8.5 million, but it was valued as high as $25 million on Mr. Trump’s financial statements,” the attorney general’s office said.
James' office said it hasn’t decided whether the evidence it presented Tuesday merits legal action. But in its attempt to convince a judge to force the Trumps to testify, it stated “the grounds for pursuing the investigation are self-evident.”
“The Trumps must comply with our lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony because no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them,” James said in her statement. “We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation and ensure that no one is above the law.”
Aaron Parsley
source: people.com
