In a letter submitted in court last week, the New York attorney general’s office claimed that Donald Trump, his three eldest children (Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric) and the Trump Organization failed to turn over emails and other important documents in a fraud lawsuit. The office also noted that there was “an unexplained drop-off in emails for Ivanka Trump.”
NY AG's Office Accuses Trump Family & Organization of Failing to Turn Over Key Emails in Fraud Lawsuit
The letter also pointed out that their refusal to provide key emails ties back into the investigation into the Trumps’ business practices that preceded the lawsuit. In May 2022, the twice-impeached former president paid a $110,000 fine after Judge Arthur Engoron found him in contempt for "failing to comply with a subpoena from the attorney general’s office," as Forbes writes.
When a judge ordered the billionaire to pay the fine in 2022, Attorney General Letitia James said, "For years, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization have tried to thwart our lawful investigation, but today’s decision makes clear that no one can evade accountability."
Now, the attorney general's office is saying that the Trumps’ evasive behavior has led to the discovery process of the $250 million lawsuit. The suit alleges that Donald Trump, his children, the Trump Organization and some of its top executives "inflated property values to obtain economic benefits, such as securing cheaper loans," as Forbes reports. The defendants denied the charges.
Last week, the attorney general’s office tapped Engoron and asked him to intervene, saying the Trumps "had started turning over documents but have not provided a timeline for when they will hand over everything," the publication adds. According to James, the Trumps have not answered any questions as to how they plan to collect the materials.
The letter notes a "significant decline in emails turned over" from Ivanka Trump, Forbes also notes, as this dropped from an average of "1,200 emails per month in the first nine months of 2014 to just 37 emails a month" in 2016.
Ivanka Trump's Attorney's Response to the Letter
James' office asked the former first daughter's attorneys about the issue, and later indicated that they were less than impressed with the response. "Not only have defendants failed to offer any substantive response to this inquiry, but there have been no documents produced by Ms. Trump," the attorney general’s office told the judge on April 28th.
Ivanka Trump notably recently replaced the lawyers who are representing her in this lawsuit, yet some continue to defend her brothers Donald Jr. and Eric. Her attorney told the judge, in response to the attorney general's letter: "Simply put, there has been no lack of diligence and no ‘stonewalling,'" although she did acknowledge that her clients couldn't turn over all the required documents by the original deadline: April 30th.
Engoron granted some of the attorney general’s requests on May 1st. All defendants, he said, were required to submit affidavits that detailed "how they have complied with discovery," Forbes writes, and he also set a new deadline for when the Trumps have to turn over the outstanding documents and info: May 12th.
In a statement, an attorney representing Donald Trump, Christopher Kise, told Forbes, "There is simply no real controversy here." He referred to the "volume of documents the Trumps have provided," according to the outlet.
