Donald Trump is facing mounting pressure after several of his attorneys were subpoenaed to give evidence to the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack. This move came as New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office has uncovered "significant" evidence suggesting the Trump Organization committed fraud.
There were major updates Tuesday into both the congressional committee investigation into the Capitol attack and the inquiry into allegations the Trump Organization fraudulently inflated the value of assets to get benefits such as better bank loans and undervalued them to reduce tax bills.
Both inquiries are among several investigations and lawsuits Trump is currently facing, including a separate criminal probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office looking at alleged felony tax fraud by the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg.
The House Panel, which have already subpoenaed dozens of the former president's allies for information relating to the insurrection, are now seeking documents and evidence from four members of his legal team.
The latest round of subpoenas issued by the panel are for Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his assistant Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign strategist Boris Epshteyn, and Sidney Powell, the QAnon-supporting lawyer who attempted to overturn the election results with her widely dismissed "kraken" lawsuits.
In a statement, Committee chair Bennie G. Thompson said all four "publicly promoted unsupported claims about the 2020 election" and participated in attempts to "disrupt or delay" the certification of election results.
It is unclear if the legal team will comply with the subpoenas. If they refuse, they risk facing criminal charges of contempt of congress.
Later that night, James' office announced they have also taken legal action to compel the former president as two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, to appear for sworn testimony as part of the investigation into Trump Organization's financial dealings.
The New York Attorney General said they filed a motion for a court order enforcing testimonial subpoenas from all three, as well as documents held by Trump.
The move follows a motion filed by the Trump family earlier in January to try to stop James' office from interviewing Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump after they were subpoenaed as part of the civil inquiry.
One of the former president's other children, Eric Trump, was questioned under oath by the New York attorney general's office in connection to the civil investigation in October 2020.
In a statement, James said after moving to compel Eric Trump to testify, the office has collected "significant additional evidence" indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.
The office added that both Donald Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were "directly involved in one or more transactions" under review.
As part of the ongoing inquiry, James' office revealed that Trump almost tripled the value of Trump Tower Triplex apartment based on the false premise that it was nearly three times its actual size.
James' office alleges that Donald Trump valued the triplex apartment, assessed at $127 million, at $327 million while claiming it is 30,000 square foot in size. However, the actual size of Trump's unit was 10,996 square feet.
Donald Trump is alleged to have claimed in his 2015 and 2016 financial statements that his triplex apartment was worth $327 million, based on its price per square foot.
In 2014, Donald Trump also valued his Aberdeenshire golf club in Scotland at $435 million. However, this valuation was said to have arrived on the assumption he had the right to build 2,500 luxury homes on the property, despite only approval to build fewer than 1,500 holiday apartments and golf villas.
"For more than two years, the Trump Organization has used delay tactics and litigation in an attempt to thwart a legitimate investigation into its financial dealings," James said.
"Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit.
"The Trumps must comply with our lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony because no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them. We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation and ensure that no one is above the law."
In December 2021, Donald Trump sued James while arguing that the inquiry violates his constitutional rights.
"The investigations commenced by James are in no way connected to legitimate law enforcement goals, but rather, are merely a thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates," the lawsuit filed in New York court reads.
Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have been contacted for comment.
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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