NY AG Says She Has New Evidence That Trump Organization Misled Banks

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been leading a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, claims to have found a bunch of evidence purportedly proving the central thrust of her probe: that the Trump Organization provided false assessments of property values to banks in order to obtain loans and insurance coverage – something that many developers do, but is nonetheless against the law since it constitutes bank fraud (just like every ordinary American who included even one untrue detail on their mortgage application could be open to prosecution for the same crime).

Now that she has dropped out of the governor’s race, James has apparently realized that bringing her investigation into the Trump Organization to a ‘satisfactory’ conclusion is a must if she ever wants to run for higher office.

Of course, Trump is also counter-suing James, accusing her of running a “politically motivated” investigation.

So, she’s asking a judge to compel Trump and two of his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with a flurry of subpoenas. But the Trumps are pushing back by demanding that the judge put all of this on hold until a criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan AG has run its course.

Attorney General Letitia James’s office said while it hadn’t reached a conclusion about whether to take legal action, the grounds for the investigation were “self-evident.”

“Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit,” Ms. James, a Democrat, said.

A lawyer for the Trumps couldn’t be reached. The Trumps have asked a judge to quash the subpoenas or put them on hold until a parallel criminal case has concluded. Lawyers for the Trumps have argued that any information the attorney general’s lawyers gained through depositions could be improperly used in the criminal investigation, which the Manhattan district attorney’s office is conducting alongside lawyers from the attorney general’s office.

How’s that for playing both sides against the middle?

AG James has long maintained that her investigation was launched based on testimony given by Michael Cohen, who told Congress that Trump would deflate the value of his assets for tax purposes, then inflate them when applying for loans. She claims that the inaccuracies being investigated pertained to the Trump Family estate at Seven Springs, north of New York City; Mr. Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower; and the Trump International Golf Club Scotland. Apparently, the AG has obtained financial statements from the Trump Organization that show valuations for properties – including Trump’s apartment – that are based on incorrect assessments of the apartment’s square footage.