Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka
(Picture: AFP/Getty Images)Former US President Donald Trump, his son Donald Jr. and his daughter Ivanka were ordered by a judge on Thursday to comply with subpoenas to testify in a probe into their family business.
Justice Arthur Engoron, of the New York state court in Manhattan, ruled in favour of Attorney General Letitia James, who sought to enforce subpoenas to compel testimony by Mr Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr and his daughter Ivanka Trump.
Judge Engoron said Ms James had “the clear right” to question the Trumps after having uncovered “copious evidence of possible financial fraud.”
The judge directed the Trumps to submit to questioning within 21 days.
Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the younger Trumps, declined to comment. Lawyers for Donald Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The decision followed a two-hour hearing in which the Trumps’ lawyers accused Ms James of infringing on their clients’ constitutional rights by seeking testimony she could then use against them in a parallel criminal probe.
Mr Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba accused Ms James of “selective prosecution and prosecutorial misconduct that this country has never seen,” citing statements reflecting the Democratic attorney general’s “vile disdain” for the ex-president.
“If he was not who he is, she would not be doing this,” Ms Habba said. “This court can help stop this circus.”
Kevin Wallace, a lawyer from James’ office, rejected that characterisation.
“They haven’t shown anything here that says it’s unfair,” He said.
Last month, Ms James said her nearly three-year investigation into the Trump Organization had uncovered significant evidence of possible fraud.
She described what she called misleading statements about the values of the “Trump Brand” and six Trump properties, saying the company may have inflated real estate values to obtain bank loans and reduced them to lower tax bills.
The investigation partially overlaps a criminal probe now led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in which the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer pleaded not guilty last July to tax fraud charges.
Trump, who has not announced whether he will run again for president in 2024, has called Ms James’ investigation a political “witch hunt” and is suing to try to stop it.
Lawyers for Donald Trump have said he did not know enough to respond to allegations of inaccurate valuations, though Mr Trump detailed some possible discrepancies in a five-page statement on Tuesday.
The Trumps have not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
