search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Housing deal finally passes; here are the detailsHousing deal finally passes; here are the detailsChavin surrenders Loop office-to-resi play with deed-in-lieu of foreclosureChavin surrenders Loop office-to-resi play with deed-in-lieu of foreclosureTides Equities faces three foreclosures in Fort WorthTides Equities faces three foreclosures in Fort WorthHow low? LNR buys San Francisco office building for 11% of 2018 priceHow low? LNR buys San Francisco office building for 11% of 2018 price
Politics
New York

Trump Org to AG: We don’t need no babysitter

Former president’s firm files response to Letitia James’ demand for receiver

Attorney General Letitia James and Donald Trump (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty)
Attorney General Letitia James and Donald Trump (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty)

The Trump Organization has delivered a simple message to Attorney General Letitia James: Don’t touch my assets.

The company asked a New York court Wednesday night to dismiss James’ request for a temporary receiver to oversee its statements to lenders and insurers. The Trump Organization also argued the court should reject James’ request for a temporary injunction to prevent asset transfers.

The attorney general, as part of her investigation into alleged fraudulent practices by the Trump Organization, this month requested significant oversight at the company, fearing it was preparing to shelter its assets in a newly established Delaware company, Trump Organization II.

In a filing, Alina Habba, an attorney for the Trump Organization and family, called the injunction request “overly broad” and said appointing a receiver would be “extremely drastic.”

“The attempted destruction of the Trump Organization has been Letitia James’ avowed goal since the moment she assumed office as Attorney General of the State of New York,” Habba wrote.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Read more

Appointing a special monitor, Habba argued, would represent an imposition on independent businesses that the attorney general has no right to represent, Habba argued.

“The interests of these corporate titans are an exclusively private matter governed by complex commercial agreements,” her filing said.

While the submission focused on James’ requests for the court to provide for temporary oversight of the Trump Organization, the company also took aim at the attorney general’s broader allegations of fraud.

The Democrat’s suit, filed in September, accused the Trump Organization of vastly inflating the value of its properties to score better loan terms and lower taxes.

“The excerpted and selected transcripts and documents fail to show the Trump Parties have ever even been late on so much as one loan payment over the past decade much less engaged in any actual fraud,” Habba wrote.

Tags
Donald TrumpIvanka TrumpPoliticsTrump Organization