The Daily Fuckup

On January 18, 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a motion to compel Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump to appear for sworn testimony in the office’s civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial dealings. The filing also sought documents held by Donald Trump and asked a court to enforce earlier subpoenas issued to the three family members.

In the press release announcing the motion, James’s office said it had collected additional evidence suggesting the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions. The office said the individuals were directly involved in transactions under review and had refused to comply with subpoenas for testimony.

The motion was part of a broader probe that began in 2019. In describing the investigation, the attorney general’s office said it had reviewed financial statements prepared over many years and found inconsistencies between those statements and supporting records submitted to the Trump Organization’s accounting firm. The office said those statements were used to present Trump’s financial condition to lenders, insurers, and other counterparties.

A separate filing on February 14, 2022, said the Trumps had not rebutted the allegations in a supplemental petition and noted that the accounting firm Mazars had told the Trump Organization the financial statements from 2011 through 2020 should no longer be relied upon. The legal fight over testimony and records was still ongoing at that point.

The case centered on whether the Trump Organization’s financial statements overstated the value of assets or otherwise misrepresented their worth. James’s office said it was seeking sworn testimony and documents from people with direct knowledge of the transactions under review as it continued the investigation.