Here’s why New York’s attorney general wants to question them.
There has been a new development in the civil probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices: New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office confirmed this week that it subpoenaed former President Trump along with two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Here’s what you should know about the investigation.
What’s this case all about?
James has been investigating the Trump Organization for the past two years. Her office has focused primarily on whether Trump’s family business committed any business malpractices, such as misleading banks or tax officials about the value of assets — including inflating them to gain more favorable loans or minimizing them to bring in more tax savings.
What does the DA want to discuss with the Trumps?
James’s office says the subpoenas were issued in connection with “the valuation of properties owned or controlled” by both Trump and the Trump Organization, according to a court filing on Monday.
“Despite numerous attempts to delay our investigation by the Trump Organization, we are confident that our questions will be answered and the truth will be uncovered because no one is above the law,” a spokesperson for James’s office told The Hill.
Though James had previously requested testimony from the former president with a Jan. 7 deadline, this move marks the first public acknowledgement that investigators are also seeking information from his two eldest children about the family’s business practices.
Ivanka and Don Jr. are among their father’s most trusted allies, and they’ve both served as executives in the Trump Organization, but they’re not the first of Trump’s children to be on James’s radar. Last October, Eric Trump gave a deposition in this same case after canceling a previously scheduled interview over the summer.
How are the Trumps responding?
Attorneys for Don Jr. and Ivanka confirmed to CBS that the Trumps will soon file a motion to fight the subpoenas. That’s not all: Trump also filed a lawsuit against James just last month in an attempt to put an end to James’s investigation over claims that it was nothing but a “political witch hunt” that “violates basic constitutional rights.”
But this case isn’t the only one the former president has to worry about: A separate criminal investigation led by the office of Manhattan’s District Attorney is continuing to move ahead as the new DA, Alvin Bragg, takes over for his predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr. So far, the findings have been damning enough to lead to charges against the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg.
