The son of President Eric Trump has refused to comply with a motion in a New York state candidate’s investigation into the Trump Organization, court documents revealed Monday.
President Donald Trump’s highly private business entity has yet to comply with statements made by New York Attorney General Letitia James, James said in court documents.
New filings show that James’ civil investigation, based in part on the testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to Congress, is trying to learn whether the financial filings for the president’s company were inflated or deflated around loans to obtain or reduce potential taxes.
Prosecutors say hundreds of documents were withheld by the Trump Organization during the investigation.
The investigation into the Trump Organization and its financial records by the Attorney General’s Office has been known for some time in New York’s legal and political circles, but this latest volume of court documents confirmed the investigation and its status for the first time.
And in a statement Monday, James specifically said that her office should speak with Eric Trump, executive vice president of this father company.
‘Nothing will prevent us from following the facts and the law, wherever they may lead. “For months, the Trump organization has made baseless claims in an attempt to protect evidence from a legal investigation into its financial dealings,” James said.
‘They have withheld documents, withheld and detained witnesses, including Eric Trump, for refusing to take oaths under questions. Therefore, we have filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to comply with the legal provisions of our Office for Documents and Testimonies. These questions will be answered and the truth will be discovered because no one is above the law. “
The Attorney General’s Office also presented documents and sought documents from attorneys and development companies involved with the Trump Organization as several of its properties. Lawyers argue that privilege-client privilege is wrongly claimed for several thousand documents withheld by these companies.
The Trump properties that James said her office is investigating include the Seven Springs Estate, a 212-acre property just north of New York City that the company is trying to develop; 40 Wall Street, a heavily used building owned by the company in Lower Manhattan; Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago; and Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles.
Hours after registration, Eric Trump posted on Twitter about James, accused her of taking action “on the eve of the Republican convention for political points.”
“Without any basis, the NYAG promised to take my father down from the moment she ran for office,” the president’s son wrote, citing James’ actions as the highest level of abuse of prosecution. ‘
David K. Li contributed.
