NEW YORK — President Donald Trump lied about seemingly everything related to his business empire, from the value of his properties around the world to “objective facts” like the size of his penthouse in Trump Tower, Attorney General Letitia James charged in an explosive 115-page petition.
New York State’s top prosecutor said that she’d found “significant evidence” of fraud at the Trump Organization. The misleading statements to banks, the IRS and other government agencies were “part of a pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared,” the petition charged.
The document, filed late Tuesday, is a dramatic escalation of James’ civil investigation of the Trump Organization, which began three years ago. The filing came in response to efforts by Trump and his children to avoid being questioned by the AG’s office under oath.
