The Daily Fuckup

New York Attorney General Letitia James stepped up her civil investigation into the Trump Organization on January 18, 2022, filing a motion to compel Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to appear for sworn testimony. The filing sought to enforce testimonial subpoenas issued to the three Trumps and to require Donald J. Trump to produce documents in his possession. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-takes-action-force-donald-j-trump-donald-trump-jr-and))

James’ office said the motion was based on an investigation that had already produced significant additional evidence. According to the filing, investigators believed the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to win loans, secure insurance coverage and claim tax deductions. The office said each of the family members was directly involved in at least one transaction under review. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-takes-action-force-donald-j-trump-donald-trump-jr-and))

The attorney general’s filing also laid out the theory behind the probe. It said the office opened the investigation in March 2019 after Michael Cohen testified to Congress about Trump financial statements and alleged asset inflation, and it said more than a dozen current and former Trump Organization employees had already given sworn testimony. The same January 18 filing said the Trumps had refused to appear for testimony despite subpoenas. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-takes-action-force-donald-j-trump-donald-trump-jr-and))

James repeated the fraud allegation in a separate public statement released later, on February 25, 2022, saying her office had uncovered significant evidence that Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-statement-civil-investigation-donald-trump))

The move marked a sharper phase in a long-running inquiry that had shifted from document collection to a direct push for sworn testimony from the former president and two of his children. The question before the court was no longer whether the attorney general had enough material to keep digging; it was whether the Trumps would be forced to answer under oath. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-takes-action-force-donald-j-trump-donald-trump-jr-and))