Former President Donald Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James as a Democrat Party agent, calling her effort to censure him for refusing to give over papers demanded as part of an ongoing fraud investigation into his business empire the "Greatest Witch Hunt of All Time."
James requested a state judge on Thursday to hold Trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over papers she had subpoenaed as part of her civil investigation into Trump's business activities.
Trump Mocks NY AG as "Embarrassment to Our Legal System"
In a court filing, James said that Trump broke his prior promise to cooperate in full with her demand for papers and information by March 31 and requested that he be penalized $10,000 each day until he did so.
Trump went on to accuse James of disregarding the state's and her office's more serious challenges. The focus of James' three-year investigation, as well as a concurrent criminal investigation conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, has been on whether the Trump Organization lied about the value of its real estate holdings to receive preferential loans and tax breaks.
Last week, James announced that her investigation discovered considerable evidence that the company's financial statements relied on deceptive asset appraisals and other misrepresentations to gain economic benefits for more than a decade.
James has criticized the Trump Organization's valuation of the 'Trump brand,' Trump's holdings include golf courses in New York and Scotland, as well as his penthouse property in Trump Tower in Manhattan.
On February 17, Manhattan state court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to submit the subpoenaed documents by March 3rd, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, Trump's adult children, should be questioned under oath. Trump was eventually granted an extension to deliver papers until March 31. He and his children petitioned a state appeals court to overturn the order ordering their testimony, according to Daily Mail.
Following Congressional evidence by Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen that he had overstated firm assets to obtain a leg up on taxes, loans, and insurance, James launched an inquiry into the Trump Organization in 2019.
She subsequently sued the corporation and Eric Trump, saying that they were obstructing her investigation.
Trump and two of his older children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., have now been added to the case, and James' office is collecting documents and testimony from them. The family trio is presently challenging an order from her office for them to be deposed, as per New York Post.
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FBI Prepares to Investigate Trump's Archive Files
Meanwhile, according to persons familiar with the situation, federal officials are scrutinizing the handling of sensitive documents discovered at former President Donald J. Trump's Florida estate after he left office.
The investigation is being led by the FBI after classified information was discovered in 15 boxes containing documents, mementos, gifts, and Trump's letters were taken from the White House after his presidency, ostensibly in violation of the requirement that all presidential papers be turned over to the National Archives.
The Justice Department has asked the National Archives not to share specifics about the documents taken from the White House by Trump with the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its inquiry, the committee said on Thursday, hinting at a criminal probe.
In such circumstances, the FBI would normally investigate several possibilities, including if classified information was mismanaged or mistakenly leaked, as well as whether a foreign opponent gained access, New York Times reported.
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