New York prosecutors expanded their investigation into President Donald Trump and his businesses to include millions in tax write-offs for questionable consulting fees, The New York Times reports.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Cy Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, have separately issued subpoenas to the Trump Organization for records related to the write-offs.
The subpoenas came after The New York Times reported that the Trump Organization deducted $26 million in taxable income in consulting fees to unidentified consultants.
A financial disclosure filed by Ivanka Trump shows that she appeared to receive a $747,000 consulting fee despite working as a senior executive at the company.
Ivanka denies wrongdoing:
“This is harassment pure and simple,” Ivanka tweeted. “This ‘inquiry’ by NYC democrats is 100% motivated by politics, publicity and rage. They know very well that there’s nothing here and that there was no tax benefit whatsoever. These politicians are simply ruthless.”
Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten told the outlet that “this is just the latest fishing expedition in an ongoing attempt to harass the company.”
“Everything was done in strict compliance with applicable law and under the advice of counsel and tax experts,” he added. “All applicable taxes were paid and no party received any undue benefit.”
Probes expand:
The Manhattan investigation is a criminal probe born out of hush money payments Trump made to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors have since said the probe has expanded to include potential fraud charges.
James is leading a civil investigation into Trump’s businesses.
The probe began when former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified to Congress that Trump inflated his assets to seek loans while deflating his assets to lower his tax burden.
