Trump's kids refuse testifying in father's corruption
3 Min Read
New York's top justice official subpoenas former US President Donald Trump, his son Don Jr., and daughter Ivanka over family business dealings.
-
NY's top justice official is probing whether the Trump Organization may have illegally reported false values on its properties.
Former US President Donald Trump's kids have refused to testify in a corruption case against their father.
New York's top justice official has subpoenaed ex-President Donald Trump, his son Don Jr., and his daughter Ivanka in an investigation into the family business dealings, a court filing revealed on Monday.
According to the document, State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, issued the subpoenas seeking their testimony last month.
The filing came to light after The Washington Post reported in December that James had asked Trump to testify in person at her office on January 7.
Monday's legal filing was the first time investigators have said they also wanted to interview Trump's two eldest children under oath.
The Trumps urge a court to "quash" subpoenas
Following the newspaper's report, Trump sued James, arguing that she was violating his constitutional rights with a politically motivated investigation.
"Despite numerous attempts to delay our investigation by the Trump Organization, we are confident that our questions will be answered and the truth will be uncovered because no one is above the law," said a spokesperson for James on Monday.
The Trump family members urged a court to "quash" the subpoenas, a legal filing showed.
"Her (James's) actions are a threat to our democracy and I plan to hold her accountable to the fullest extent," said Trump lawyer Alina Habba.
Trump Organization presents false values
James is probing whether the Trump Organization may have illegally reported false values on its properties, potentially to gain banking and tax advantages.
She launched her investigation in March 2019 and suspects that the Trump Organization fraudulently overstated the value of certain properties when seeking bank loans, and later reported much smaller values when declaring assets so it could pay less tax.
Trump's son, Eric, who is Executive Vice-President of the Trump Organization, was interviewed by James's office on the issue in October 2020.
A list of investigations
In Washington, the former US President is trying to prevent a congressional probe into the January 6 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol from accessing White House records related to that day.
The Trump Organization is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney for possible financial crimes and insurance fraud.
In July, the Trump Organization and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges.
Ivanka was also working at the organization until she took over as a leadership advisor in her father's White House administration.
Trump was also questioned for more than four hours in October as part of a lawsuit by a group of protesters who accused his security guards of assaulting them six years ago.
The US ex-President is also battling releasing prevent years of his tax returns to prosecutors.
