January 3, 2022

New York Subpoenas Trump Kids in Probe of Family Business. They Say They Won’t Comply.

SMG/Zuma

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is ramping up her civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s business practices. On Monday, court filings showed New York is subpoenaing two of Donald Trump’s children, Ivanka and Donald Jr.—who have already said they won’t comply. The filing also confirmed James had subpoenaed Trump himself, which was reported a month ago.

As my colleague Russ Choma wrote in May, James’ investigation has been ongoing since 2019. The probe, he wrote, “included questions of whether Trump had fraudulently inflated or deflated the values of his properties when seeking loans or tax breaks.” Another Trump son, Eric, already sat for a deposition relating to the case in October 2020.

But Ivanka and Donald Jr., who have both been heavily involved in the Trump Organization, aren’t handing over any documents without a fight. The two have filed already filed motions to end the subpoenas, ABC News reports.

Because this is a civil investigation, James could file a lawsuit if she finds sufficient evidence, but she could not press criminal charges. However, James’ office is also involved in a criminal probe, spearheaded by former Manhattan DA Cy Vance, of potential tax fraud by Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg. Vance, who left office last week, is leaving the investigation to his successor, Alvin Bragg.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate