Trump Organization faces new scrutiny in New York civil probe

The Trump Organization is facing new pressure to comply with a New York state civil investigation into the company’s financial dealings.

A New York judge has given the former president’s company until next week to report on its efforts to furnish records subpoenaed by the state attorney general, according to a court order unsealed on Friday. 

The judge’s order also gives New York state Attorney General Letitia James (D) a possible avenue to bring on a third party to assist with collecting company records for the probe, which is looking into whether former President Trump misled banks and insurers about the value of his financial assets. 

The court order, signed earlier this month and made public Friday, comes amid ongoing clashes between the Trump Organization and James over her office’s requests for documents and depositions.  

“For more than a year now, the Trump Organization has failed to adequately respond to our subpoenas, hiding behind procedural delays and excuses,” James said in a statement. “Once again, the court has ordered that the Trump Organization must turn over the information and documents we are seeking, otherwise face an independent third-party that will ensure that takes place.” 

An attorney for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York attorney general opened the investigation in March 2019 after the president’s former attorney Michael Cohen testified to Congress that Trump had altered the value of his assets in financial statements in order to get loans, better insurance rates and tax breaks. 

The civil probe is separate from an ongoing criminal investigation that James is carrying out in conjunction with the Manhattan district attorney.

In the civil case, court records show that James’s office is investigating the valuation of several Trump properties including the Seven Springs resort in Westchester County, N.Y., an office building on Wall Street in New York City, the Trump International Hotel in Chicago and the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. 

Friday’s unsealed court order, signed by New York state Judge Arthur Engoron, provides a mechanism by which James can move in mid-October to bring on a third party to oversee the Trump Organization’s compliance with the subpoenas if the company fails to do so on its own.