By Vihaan Majumdar
In an unusual statement amid an ongoing investigation, New York Attorney General Letitia James claimed that her office had uncovered “significant evidence” of fraud in her investigation of the Trump Organization and the former president. The statement was made as James’s office argued in court papers that Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump himself had not responded in a sufficient manner to subpoenas that were issued during the investigation.
“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,” James said late Tuesday. She added, “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.”
The motion to compel their testimony was filed after the Trumps sought to quash the subpoenas. The investigation is reviewing whether the Trump Organization used fraudulent valuations of its holdings to obtain loans, tax deductions, and insurance coverage, among a host of financial benefits. The former president and his allies have decried the investigation as a “political witch-hunt”, a phrase quite popular with Trump, who tweeted the term around 300 times between his inauguration and October of 2019.
A similar investigation is underway by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. This has already resulted in criminal charges against the company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, though there have been no charges against Trump or his children as of now.
