New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has pledged to continue her investigation of the Trump Organization if Donald Trump loses his bid for re-election in coming days. James’s investigation focuses on questions like whether the Trump family business fraudulently adjusted the valuations of their assets in order to secure benefits like tax breaks. Amidst the investigation, the president’s son Eric — who has been co-leading the family business while his father has been in the White House — recently sat for a deposition with James’s office.
James discussed her ongoing investigation during a new appearance on MSNBC, where she told host Ali Velshi the following:
‘In New York, as you know, we have an investigation against the Trump Organization related to financial impropriety. That investigation is ongoing. We will continue that investigation and at this point in time there’s nothing more that I can say other than the fact that they have used every legal attempt to block and to deny us information and [block] witnesses. We filed motions to compel and we were successful in our motion to compel, and we will continue with our investigation. We had the opportunity to question Eric Trump and we are continuing to review all of the documents they have submitted and other witnesses as well — we look forward to questioning them also.’
James added that “the reality is, is that, as the attorney general, I am guided by the law and the facts and my political affiliation and my political thoughts and my personal views are left at the door.” On MSNBC, she also pledged to work in order to ensure that valid votes are counted rather than thrown out by desperate Republicans clinging to voter suppression as a tactic. Watch James’s comments below:
As James mentions, there’s been some resistance from the Trump camp to New York investigative efforts. Eric originally agreed to sit for a deposition months ago, but then he wanted to push the testimony to after the election. A court ordered him to testify promptly, concluding that his argument for waiting until after the election was baseless; N.Y. state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron concluded that Eric “[cited] no authority in support of his request.”
Letitia James has said that her office is putting together a substantial list of actions for a potential Biden administration to promptly take in order to undo some of the destruction of the Trump administration. James has frequently challenged the Trump administration in court over a wide range of issues.
