Former President Donald Trump may have left office, but the Democrats’ “resistance” remains ongoing. The dream shall never die.
New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the Trump Organization of misrepresenting its assets for loans and for tax benefits, according to a court filing released Tuesday. Trump has dismissed the allegations as a political “witch hunt.”
James cannot file criminal charges, and she has yet to announce whether she will sue.
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The court documents recount James’ yearslong investigation. Across 175 pages, these documents contain James’ most detailed account yet.
James said that the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets to impress lenders. She also said that Trump’s company overstated the value of land donations made in New York and California on paperwork submitted to the IRS in order to justify several million dollars in tax deductions.
According to James, the company misreported the size of his Manhattan penthouse when giving estimates of Trump’s wealth,, saying it was nearly three times its actual size — a difference in value of about $200 million. James cited deposition testimony from Trump’s longtime financial chief Allen Weisselberg, who was charged last year with tax fraud in a parallel criminal investigation.
James spoke of “significant additional evidence.”
The Trump Organization hit back on Tuesday.
“The only one misleading the public is Letitia James,” the company said in a statement.
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“She defrauded New Yorkers by basing her entire candidacy on a promise to get Trump at all costs without having seen a shred of evidence and in violation of every conceivable ethical rule… Three years later she is now faced with the stark reality that she has no case.”
On Twitter, Donald Trump Jr. called the investigation “is nothing more than political retribution from her on behalf of the entire Dem Party.”
He added, “She should be disbarred!”
The disclosure comes as Trump has been laying the groundwork for a potential comeback campaign for president in 2024. He held his first rally of the new year last weekend in Arizona, where he slammed the “monsters that are using law enforcement for political retribution at the local, state and federal level” and aired an anti-James video that highlighted her past anti-Trump statements.
I've been leading the resistance against Donald Trump in NYC and will only continue to do so in every way possible #NYCVotes #NY1Politics
— Tish James (@TishJames) October 16, 2017
Trump’s legal team has sought to block the subpoenas, and it asked a federal court last month to put an end to James’ investigation. That lawsuit is pending. His lawyers say James is improperly attempting to obtain testimony in her civil probe that could be used in a parallel criminal investigation overseen by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
James’ office has, in fact, been involved in Manhattan’s criminal investigation. Although her investigation technically remains separate, her office has dispatched several lawyers to work side by side with prosecutors from the Manhattan D.A.’s office.
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In a statement late Tuesday, James’ office dismissed Trump’s legal challenge as a “delay tactic.” Her office also said the evidence gathered so far shows that her investigation should proceed unimpeded.
James’ office said that under state law, it can seek ”a broad range of remedies” against companies found to have committed commercial fraud, including revoking licenses to conduct business in the state, seeking the removal of company officers or seeking restitution and “disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.”
Her office also said that it intends to “make a final determination about who is responsible.”
However, James didn’t name prison as a possible option. She is leading a civil investigation, after all.
Not a criminal investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.