Subpoenas issued to Trump family

NEW York’s attorney general has issued subpoenas to former president Donald Trump and his two eldest children in connection with an ongoing civil investigation into the family’s business practices, according to a court filing.

Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in the filing that it is seeking testimony and documents from Mr Trump, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump “in connection with an investigation into the valuation of properties owned or controlled” by the former president and his company, the Trump Organisation.

The attorney general’s attempt to get testimony from the former president was reported in December, but the court filing yesterday was the first public disclosure that investigators were also seeking information from Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The Trumps are expected to file court papers seeking to quash the subpoenas, setting up a legal fight similar to one that played out last year after Ms James’ office subpoenaed another Trump son.

Mr Trump sued Ms James last month, seeking to end the investigation after she requested that he sit for a January 7 deposition. Mr Trump’s lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that the probe has violated his constitutional rights in a “thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates”.

Yesterday’s court filing was the attorney general office’s first public acknowledgement that it has previously subpoenaed Mr Trump’s testimony.

Ms James, a Democrat, has spent more than two years looking at whether the Trump Organisation misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets – inflating them to gain favourable loan terms or minimising them to reap tax savings.

Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka have been issued with subpoenas during an ongoing civil investigation.