NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s attorney general is investigating whether US President Donald Trump has manipulated the value of his assets to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits, accusing his son Eric of not cooperating in ‘ was a sin.
PHOTO PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a news conference on the latest developments in coronavirus (COVID-19) disease at the White House Brady Press Briefing Room in Washington, US August 23, 2020. REUTERS / Erin Scott
The revelation was made Monday in a submission to a state court in New York in Manhattan, where Attorney General Letitia James wants the Trump Organization, Eric Trump and others to comply with statements issued by her office.
James’s lawyers said the allegations were issued as part of their “ongoing confidential civil investigation into possible fraud or illegality.” They said there had been no provision as to whether any laws had been broken.
Lawyers for the Trump Organization and Eric Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
James said she began her probe after Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified before the U.S. Congress that the president’s financial statements inflated the value of some assets to save money on loans and insurance, and deflated the value of other assets. to reduce real estate tax.
Four properties are being assessed, including the 212-acre (85.8-acre) Seven Springs Estate in north-west Westchester County, north of New York City, whose estimates were used to claim an apparent $ 21.1 million tax deduction for 2015.
Other properties include 40 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, and the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles.
James said Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump organization, was “intimately involved” in one or more transactions being investigated, and refused to appear for a scheduled interview according to a lawsuit.
While the Trump Organization and others have already produced “significant amounts” of fabricated materials, James’s office said the parties are in some cases over a lot of materials.
“The Trump Organization has been making baseless claims for months in an attempt to protect evidence from a lawful investigation into its financial dealings,” James said in a statement. “They have withheld documents, withheld and imposed witnesses, including Eric Trump, for refusing to answer oaths under questions.”
Report by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Edited by Noeleen Walder, Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot
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