The AG contends Donald Trump improperly inflated the value of his businesses.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has called on a judge to compel Eric Trump to comply with a subpoena as part of the state’s investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial dealings.
The investigation stems from Congressional testimony by Donald Trump‘s former attorney Michael Cohen who said the president’s “annual financial statements inflated the values of Trump’s assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance coverage, while also deflating the value of other assets to reduce real estate taxes,” James said in a statement.
The New York AG’s office has been investigating the Trump Organization for over a year on various deals, including the attempted purchase of the Buffalo Bills, according to court papers. James said despite offering cooperation, the organization has not turned over key documents her office has sought in the investigation, and has instructed key witnesses, including Donald Trump’s son Eric, to refuse to testify under oath despite subpoenas.
“[The Office of the Attorney General] brings this application to present to the Court various unfounded and overbroad privilege assertions relating to responsive documents and testimony,” the AG’s office said in its motion that was filed Friday.
The AG’s office said seven subpoenas are in dispute which would provide the office “with thousands of documents and testimony from multiple witnesses regarding several, specific Trump Organization properties and transactions.”
The attorney general’s office accused the Trump Organization of stonewalling and singled out Eric Trump’s lack of compliance. Eric Trump is the company’s vice president and is described by James as “an important character in certain transactions.”
“After initially professing to comply and agreeing on a date for testimony, the Trump Organization has now refused entirely to comply with a subpoena for Eric Trump’s testimony,” the court document said.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told ABC News in a statement that the company isn’t under investigation and this matter “is simply a discovery dispute over documents and the like.” The spokesperson criticized James for filing the motion, calling it a “harassment of the company as we approach the election.”
“The Trump Organization has done nothing wrong and, as the motion papers clearly state, the NYAG has made no determination that anything was improper or that any action is forthcoming,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.
