NEW YORK — The Trump Organization faces an imminent court deadline to comply with subpoenas issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James nearly two years ago, a newly unsealed order reveals.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron wrote that President Donald Trump’s company must provide a report on Sept. 30 documenting how it preserved, collected and produced evidence to the AG’s office.
If James is not satisfied, the court will order an independent firm to “oversee the identification, collection, and review” of documents responsive to the AG’s demand, the order states.
Engoron signed the order on Sept. 2. It was unsealed Friday.
James served the subpoenas on the Trump Organization on Dec. 27, 2019. The nature of the AG’s demand was not revealed in the court order. But previous filings have revealed James is investigating whether the Trump Organization manipulated the value of its properties to dodge taxes
“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. Our work will continue undeterred because no one is above the law.”
The AG’s office is collaborating with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who has charged the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with dodging taxes on company perks for 15 years.
Weisselberg’s lawyers said Monday they have “strong reason to believe other indictments are coming” in the investigation.
Investigators say the former president’s chief moneyman engaged in an “audacious” tax fraud scheme, cheating federal and state governments out of nearly $1 million in taxes. Weisselberg, of Long Island, has worked for the Trump family since the early 1970s.
Trump’s namesake company could face hefty fines due to the charges. Weisselberg could go to prison for 15 years.
Trump himself has not been criminally charged. Weisselberg maintains his innocence.
