Legal Trouble For Trump Family? President's Son Must Testify In New York Fraud Investigation Before Election
Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, must testify as part of a New York fraud probe before the November presidential election, a state judge ruled Tuesday. New York Attorney General Letitia James is currently investigating whether the Trump family business, The Trump Organization, improperly inflated its assets on financial documents to obtain loans and other business favors.
State Judge Arthur Engoron said Eric Trump must testify under oath no later than Oct. 7. Eric Trump was subpoenaed by the state attorney general but requested to testify after the Nov. 3 election, because he's on the campaign trail helping his father’s campaign.
“The court’s order today makes clear that no one is above the law, not even an organization or an individual with the name 'Trump,'" James said about the ruling.
Eric Trump has attacked James’ investigation, suggesting it is politically motivated.
“The New York Attorney General has called my father an 'illegitimate' president and pledged to take him down while she was running for office," Trump said in a statement released after ruling. "Her actions since demonstrate a continued political vendetta and attempt to interfere with the upcoming election. That said, since I previously agreed to appear for an interview, I will do so as scheduled.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is also investigating the financial dealings of The Trump Organization. Court documents revealed that Vance is trying to determine whether the company engaged in possible bank and insurance fraud.
Vance is currently seeking eight years of Donald Trump’s tax returns and other documents from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars LLC. Vance is also investigating whether he directed alleged hush-money payments to several women prior to the 2016 election.
During congressional testimony in February 2019, Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen said the president “inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.” Cohen claimed Trump falsely inflated his wealth by $4 billion in 2014 in a failed bid to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
In 2015, Trump said his net worth exceeded $10 billion. Forbes has estimated that Trump has a net worth of $2.5 billion.
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