(CN) — The New York Attorney General Office touted a court order Friday that will force the Trump Organization to explain how it has complied with subpoenas — one almost two years old — from the state's civil investigation.
“For more than a year now, the Trump Organization has failed to adequately respond to our subpoenas, hiding behind procedural delays and excuses,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that included a mantra often repeated against former President Donald Trump during his single term in office.
"Our work will continue undeterred," James said, "because no one is above the law."
According to a stipulation and order unsealed Thursday, the Trump Organization has until Sept. 30 to explain what actions it took to preserve and produce documents first requested by the attorney general on Dec. 27, 2019.
If the attorney general is unsatisfied with how the organization worked to produce the documents, the 3-page stipulation and order states, then the Trump Organization must pay for an electronic-discovery firm to trawl through its records.
Attorney General James said the order came after months of back and forth with the organization co-founded by the former U.S. president's father.
A spokesperson for Attorney’s General Office declined to comment beyond James' statement.
The order by Judge Arthur Engoron of the County of New York Supreme Court is dated on Sept. 2 and unsealed this week following a request from a media organization.
It is the latest episode in New York's long-running investigation into the organization’s financial dealings. In August 2020, the attorney general turned to the courts to force the Trump Organization to comply with a series of subpoenas as her office plumbed its finances even while then-President Trump prepared to participate in the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Meanwhile Trump has accused James, a Democrat, of launching a witch hunt against him.
James’ probe has reportedly looked at the consulting fees the Trump Organization paid out to individuals such as Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump. The investigation has roamed as well to Trump’s properties, such as the Seven Springs Estate in Westchester County.
In the latter matter, New York is investigating the suspected inflation of a conservation easement on the 213-acre property to give the property a better tax benefit.
James’ office announced in September and again in December 2020 that the judge presiding over the proceedings ordered the Trump Organization to disclose various documents related to the Seven Springs Estate.
The order unsealed this week says the Trump Organization’s report will show “in reasonable detail, of actions taken to preserve, collect, and produce hard-copy and electronic documents responsive to the OAG subpoenas.”
But the Office of Attorney General can decide sometime between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31 that the Trump Organization did not do enough, then the task will be outsourced, according to the order: “The eDiscovery Firm shall be chosen by the Trump Organization, subject to the approval of the OAG, such approval to not be unreasonably withheld.”
That an order like this would arise “reeks of mistrust” between the parties, Daniel Alonso, a former federal and New York state prosecutor now with the firm Buckley, said in an interview Friday.
Alonso noted that parties facing a subpoena will typically either comply or negotiate down the scope of the writs. A special proceeding to enforce a subpoena, like the one the attorney general here launched against the Trump Organization, is less common.
The order appears to be an intermediate step toward James’ goal of ultimately getting an order directing the Trump Organization to produce the documents she seeks, Alonso said.
Alsono also noted that e-discovery companies in the legal world are de rigueur. "What's not common," he continued, "is to force an organization to appoint one as an independent third party with the approval of the party who has issued the subpoena."
The order in the litigation over the subpoenas comes as the ex-president’s organization faces a series of legal challenges. In May, the Manhattan district attorney convened a special grand jury to hear evidence in a criminal probe of Trump’s business dealings.
Months later, the fruits of that proceeding blossomed: In July, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty to state charges alleging he and the organization allowed members of the organization to benefit from fringe benefits that were not reported on their taxes.
The Trump Organization did not return emailed requests for comment.
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