Judge orders Trump Org. to address subpoenas by New York attorney general for company records
(CNN) — A New York judge has ordered the Trump Organization to submit a report next week to the New York Attorney General in an effort to resolve a long-running dispute over subpoenas for records, according to an unsealed order.
“The Trump Organization, by September 30, 2021, shall provide a report, in reasonable detail, of actions taken to preserve, collect, and produce hard-copy and electronic documents responsive to the OAG subpoenas,” Judge Arthur Engoron in a stipulation and order dated Sept. 2 and unsealed Friday.
The judge said the Trump Organization “shall work diligently to comply with each of the production and other responsibilities.”
Engoron said if the attorney general’s office is not satisfied that the Trump Organization has met its obligation to comply with the subpoenas by Oct. 15, a third party will conduct a review of the company’s records to be responsive to the subpoena.
“For more than a year now, the Trump Organization has failed to adequately respond to our subpoenas, hiding behind procedural delays and excuses. 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,” said New York attorney general Letitia James.
A representative for the Trump Organization could not immediately be reached.
The New York attorney general’s office is investigating the Trump Organization and its officers in a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether it improperly inflated the value of assets to obtain loans and insurance or lowered the values to pay lower taxes.
James’ office teamed up with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office earlier this year and announced an indictment charging the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with running a 15-year tax fraud scheme.
Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty.
The issue involves a dispute over the company’s compliance with subpoenas, including one dating from December 2019. The attorney general’s office previously went to court to compel the deposition of Eric Trump, a senior Trump Organization official.
Also included in the order is a list of individuals identified as “custodians” whose records are sought from the Trump Organization, DJT Holdings LLC, Seven Springs LCC, and other entities. That list includes several top Trump Organization executives including, Matthew Calamari, Alan Garten, Jeff McConney, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, and former President Donald Trump.