New York Judge Rules Trump Organization Must Hand Over Documents as Part of State Probe

Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, walks outside of Trump Tower in New York City on Aug. 15, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump Organization to turn over documents to New York state investigators as part of a probe into the company’s business practices.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, revealed in August that she had been probing whether the Trump Organization had “improperly” manipulated the value of its assets on annual financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain tax benefits. The investigation had remained confidential for months.

Justice Arthur Engoron from the New York Supreme Court ordered Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, to make himself available by Oct. 7 to be interviewed for the probe. The judge also ordered the Trump Organization to turn over some financial documents James sought, however, issues remained over whether the Trump Organization could withhold documents regarding an engineer who worked with the company in connection with the Seven Springs Estate.

In an order (pdf), Engoron ordered communications between the engineer and the Trump Organization needed to be handed over to New York state investigators.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

An exterior view of the entrance to the new Trump International Hotel at the old post office in Washington on Oct. 26, 2016. (Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

James, in a statement, welcomed the decision, saying “Once again, justice and the rule of law prevailed. We will immediately move to ensure that the Trump Organization complies with the court’s order and submits records related to our investigation.”

James previously said that she was investigating several Trump Organization properties including the Seven Spring Estate, 40 Wall Street, the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, and Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. Apart from Eric Trump, she is also attempting to seek testimony from a land-use attorney who had worked with the Trump Organization in connection to the Seven Springs Estate.

The state attorney general provided some details about the investigation saying that one particular focus, for example, is whether the Trump Organization and its agents had manipulated the value of the Seven Springs Estate.

She went to the court in August complaining that Eric Trump and other associates were stalling and stonewalling the investigation by refusing to produce the request documents and refusing to appear to give testimony under the subpoena, according to a motion and memorandum (pdf) filed in the court.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization at the time denied the allegations to The Epoch Times in an emailed statement, saying that the company “has done nothing wrong,“ adding that it ”tried to cooperate in good faith with the investigation at every turn.”

Eric Trump sat for a sworn deposition via video with the New York State investigators in October, the state attorney general confirmed. No details as to duration of the interview nor the line of questioning were released.