Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence look on as President-elect Donald Trump conducts a press conference at Trump Tower in January 2017. AFP via Getty Images
A judge forced the Trump Organization to hire an independent firm to oversee its compliance with subpoenas from the New York State attorney general’s office in its fraud investigation, according to a filing made late Tuesday.
A court order unsealed in September 2021 revealed that Judge Arthur Engoron was requiring the Trump Organization to submit a report by Oct. 15 detailing its response to subpoenas in a case alleging the company falsified the value of its assets to secure loans and tax breaks. If the attorney general’s office determined those actions were insufficient, the Trump Organization would have to retain, at its own cost, an independent firm to oversee its compliance. Engoron required the office of Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, to make its decision by Dec. 31.
The attorney general had been mum on any decision, and the Trump Organization did not respond to inquiries. But Tuesday night, the office’s decision became public, disclosed in a footnote to a filing: “As the Court is aware, an independent eDiscovery Firm has been retained by the Trump Organization pursuant to this Court’s order dated September 3, 2021.”
Even with third-party oversight, though, the attorney general still found it difficult to get paperwork from the Trump Organization. “[The Office of the Attorney General] has already noted the failure to identify and produce Donald J. Trump custodial documents as an issue for the eDiscovery firm,” the footnote explained.
In addition to interviewing Trump and two of his adult children, James’ office wants to search their phones and laptops, as well as those of Eric Trump, Trump Organization Chief Operating Officer Matthew Calamari and longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weissselberg.
“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 a statement.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the subpoenas. In a statement, though, a spokesperson for the company called the allegations “baseless.”
One of Eric Trump’s attorneys, Marc Mukasey of Mukasey Frenchman LLP, quit this case on Sept. 14, just after the judge unsealed his stipulation about third-party compliance. Mukasey’s notice to the court does not include an explanation for his departure, and he would not speak on the record about it.
Dannysmartful on January 19th, 2022 at 19:20 UTC »
How can Donald Trump afford all of this legal activity with a HUGE bank note past due from deutsche bank? ? ?
Is that why they're selling off their trash?
jfcmfer on January 19th, 2022 at 16:50 UTC »
This whole lawsuit cracks me up. I've been involved in real estate valuation for a long time. Anytime we can't get historical operating statements from a property owner, we ask for their tax forms and then miraculously they are able to come up with the historicals. Reason being, it's super common for them to downplay their income for taxes and pump it up for lending. How? Fraud, that's how. They lie, typically on their taxes. I mean, some of it can be chalked up to how they are allowed to record and report some income and expenses for taxes, but overall they basically lie. I imagine Trump has perfected this and probably pushes it further than most others so someone will likely end up in jail over this. I really hope it's his kids.
reclusiveronin on January 19th, 2022 at 16:38 UTC »
Are they aware they are working for free?