New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement Tuesday stating that her office filed motions before the state court to compel Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to testify in the office’s ongoing investigation into financial fraud and false statements allegations.
“New York Attorney General Letitia James today took legal action to compel Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump to appear for sworn testimony as part of the office’s ongoing civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial dealings,” the statement reads. “The motion to compel filed today seeks a court order enforcing testimonial subpoenas issued to Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump, as well as the production of documents held by Donald J. Trump. As the papers filed today make clear, each of the individuals was directly involved in one or more transactions under review. Earlier this month, the Trumps filed a motion to quash these interviews, and the papers filed today by the Attorney General oppose that motion.”
The case is a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization and its officers manipulated the claimed values of properties to increase the value when they were using the real estate as collateral or lower the value when they needed to skip taxes. While a civil lawsuit would not result in jail time, it could effectively bankrupt the family and the company in fines, penalties and back tax payments.