MANHATTAN (CN) — Donald Trump and two of his children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, have been subpoenaed by the New York attorney general in connection with an ongoing state probe into the former president’s real estate dealings.
The subpoenas were disclosed in a 5-page filing in state court made public Monday, the latest episode in New York's long-running investigation into the financial dealings of the Trump Organization.
Indeed, Trump was still the president and preparing to participate in the 2020 Republican National Convention when Attorney General Letitia James turned to the courts in August 2020 to force the Trump Organization to comply with a series of subpoenas as her office plumbed its finances.
As revealed in the new filing, meanwhile, the New York State Office of the Attorney General has subpoenaed Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka to supply testimony and documents “in connection with an investigation into the valuation of properties owned or controlled by Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization, or any matter which the Attorney General deems pertinent thereto."
Trump already sued James last month in the Northern District of New York to block the investigation into his business dealings, claiming violations of the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments, as well abuse of process.
Reacting to the news of the subpoenas Monday, Alina Habba, the New Jersey-based lawyer representing Trump in his suit to halt the state probe, called James “the single most unethical attorney general this country has ever seen.”
“The way she has weaponized her office through this political witch hunt exceeds all bounds of prosecutorial standards and violates basic constitutional rights,” Habba wrote in an email Monday. “Her actions are a threat to our democracy and I plan to hold her accountable to the fullest extent.”
James forecast her plans to subpoena Trump to testify, prompting Trump to repeat his mantra that the Democrat is pursuing a "witch hunt" against him.
Trump's ownership of Seven Springs, within the towns of Bedford, New Castle and North Castle in Westchester County, New York, has been an early focus of the investigation.
An approximately 212-acre property containing a Georgian-style mansion, Seven Springs caught investigators' attention after Trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen told a congressional committee in 2019 that Trump had a habit of manipulating property values — inflating them in some cases and minimizing them in others to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits. Cohen testified that Trump had financial statements saying Seven Springs was worth $291 million as of 2012. He gave copies of three of Trump's financial statements to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform during his testimony.
Some details of what the investigation has unearthed to date appeared in a 68-page memorandum James filed in August 2020.
“Valuations of Seven Springs were used to claim an apparent $21.1 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement on the property in tax year 2015, and in submissions to financial institutions as a component of Mr. Trump’s net worth,” the August memo states.
Trump purchased the property in 1995 for $7.5 million. It drew renewed scrutiny as he prepared to leave office and was on the cusp of losing legal protections he had as president. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance issued new subpoenas in mid-December 2020, and a judge ordered evidence to be turned over to James' office nine days after Trump departed Washington.
James’ office previously subpoenaed another of the the Trump children, Eric Trump, who serves as the Trump Organization’s executive vice president and Seven Springs LLC’s president, in connection with the state investigation.
Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump are both represented by attorney Alan S. Futerfas, who also represented the Trump Organization in connection with charges brought last summer by the Manhattan district attorney.
Futerfas’ office did not immediately respond to request for comment on Monday afternoon. Through Futerfas, the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty to the counts in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Prior to representing Trump’s businesses, Futerfas notably served as counsel for alleged mobsters connected to the storied Gambino, Genovese and Colombo crime families.
Follow @jruss_jruss
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
