Bramhall

Dear Commons Community,

The judicial news in New York this week was that Attorney General Letitia James has issued subpoenas to Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., as part of an ongoing fraud inquiry examining the operations of former President Donald Trump‘s real estate business.

USA Today reported the action was disclosed in court documents filed Monday in connection with the civil investigation focusing on whether the Trump Organization claimed false property valuations in its dealings with lenders and taxing authorities.

The move comes as the attorney general also is seeking the testimony of the former president.

The civil investigation has been running parallel to a criminal inquiry led by both James and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

So far, the joint investigation has resulted in criminal tax evasion charges against Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer.

Last year, state prosecutors alleged that the Trump Organization and Weisselberg participated in an “off the books” compensation operation that funded luxury car leases, family members’ tuition payments and apartment rent starting in 2005 and running through this year.

James first launched her investigation after former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told federal lawmakers in 2019 that Donald Trump regularly inflated the value of his properties and his net worth to get better insurance and loan rates.

In May, the attorney general announced that her office was joining forces with the Manhattan district attorney.

Bramhall’s cartoon above captures what must be some of the Trump family’s angst!

Tony