The New York Attorney General, Letitia James, is suing the president’s business, his son Eric Trump and other associates as of August 24, 2020. This is in order to force compliance as they have refused to appear at interviews regarding the matter. “Nothing will stop us from following the facts and the law, wherever they may lead. For months, the Trump Organization has made baseless claims in an effort to shield evidence from a lawful investigation into its financial dealings,” James said in a statement. “They have stalled, withheld documents, and instructed witnesses, including Eric Trump, to refuse to answer questions under oath.”
On the eve of RNC
This lawsuit was announced on the eve of the Republican National Convention as the attorney general has been investigating whether Trump and his business improperly inflated his assets on annual financial statements to secure loans and get economic and tax benefits for several months. On July 22, Eric Trump refused to show up to his subpoenaed interview. “That’s why we’ve filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to comply with our office’s lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony,” James added. “These questions will be answered, and the truth will be uncovered because no one is above the law.”
CFO of Trump Organization
Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, had agreed to the interview the week before and complained that her questions went beyond the scope of the investigation. James said that she assured the Trump Organization the day before Eric Trump’s scheduled interview that her office doesn’t have an open criminal investigation into any of these matters and wasn’t working with any criminal law enforcement agencies at the time. James asked to reschedule Trump’s interview the next week. However, the organization said they couldn’t allow the interview to go further. This reply came six days after Eric Trump failed to appear.
Trump Investigation
James has been investigating four different properties: 40 Wall Street, Trump International Hotel, Seven Springs Estate, Tower Chicago and Trump National Golf Club. In her 68-page memorandum, she says that the valuations of the estate was used to get a $21.1 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement on the property in 2015, which there is no proof of said easement. Eric Trump, the president’s son, is the executive vice president of Trump Organization and the president of Seven Springs LLC.