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President Trump’s son Eric ordered to testify in fraud probe
NEW YORK, Sept 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A New York judge on Wednesday ordered
Eric Trump, the president’s son most involved with running the family
business, to be deposed by October 7 as part of an investigation over charges
that the organization improperly inflated the value of real estate assets.
Letitia James, the Democratic attorney general of New York state who
opened the inquiry, has been asking since May to question Eric Trump, 36, who
has emerged as the helmsman of the Trump Organization since his father moved
to the White House in early 2017.
Even though Eric Trump has said he was ready to “cooperate” with the
inquiry, his lawyers recently asked for the session to be pushed back until
after the November 3 election, arguing that he was too busy, as he is heavily
involved in his father’s re-election campaign.
The attorney general had challenged that request in a court in the state,
asking that Eric Trump be forced to provide documentation on several of the
company’s properties, including a building on Wall Street and the Trump
International Hotel in Chicago.
After a court hearing on Wednesday, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in favor of
the attorney general, calling the younger Trump’s arguments “unconvincing”
and noting that “nor is this Court bound by the timelines of the national
election.”
“We will immediately move to ensure that Donald Trump and the Trump
Organization comply with the court’s order and submit financial records
related to our investigation,” said James.
“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,” she said.
The investigation is one of several legal proceedings involving Trump and
his family.
The attorney general opened the probe in 2019 after the president’s former
lawyer Michael Cohen, who has since been jailed, testified to Congress that
Trump had inflated or under-reported the values of certain properties to
secure loans or reduce his taxes.
In another investigation, Trump has been put on notice by Manhattan’s
attorney general, Cyrus Vance, after failing to provide eight years’ worth of
accounts.
Despite a decision that went against him in July in the Supreme Court, his
lawyers are still fighting in the courts to avoid submitting those documents,
and the case could head back to the Supreme Court again.
BSS/AFP/RY/08:50hrs