Trump legal troubles continue to mount
NEW YORK: A top justice official has subpoenaed former US president Donald Trump, his son Don Jr and daughter Ivanka in her investigation into the family’s business dealings, a court filing shows.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, issued the subpoenas last month seeking their testimony in her years-long probe, according to the document.
The filing came to light after the Washington Post reported in December that Ms James had asked Mr Trump to testify in person at her office on January 7. Monday’s legal filing was the first time investigators have said that they also want to quiz his two eldest children under oath.
Following the Post’s report, Mr Trump sued, arguing Ms James was violating his constitutional rights with a politically motivated investigation.
“Despite numerous attempts to delay our investigation by the Trump Organisation, we are confident that our questions will be answered and the truth will be uncovered because no one is above the law,” a spokesman for Ms James said on Monday.
The Trumps urged a court to quash the subpoenas, a legal filing showed.
“Her (James’) actions are a threat to our democracy and I plan to hold her accountable to the fullest extent,” Trump lawyer Alina Habba said.
Ms James is probing whether the Trump Organisation may have illegally reported false values on its properties, potentially to gain banking and tax advantages.
She launched her investigation in March 2019 and suspects the organisation fraudulently overstated the value of certain properties when seeking bank loans, and later reported much smaller values when declaring assets so it could pay less tax.
In Washington the former president is trying to prevent a congressional probe into the January 6 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol from accessing White House records related to that day.
The Trump Organisation is under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney for possible financial crimes and insurance fraud.
In July, the organisation and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges.
The trial is due to start in the middle of this year.
He is also battling to prevent years of his tax returns being released to prosecutors.