Since the start of his 2016 campaign for President, Donald Trump's and the Trump Organization's finances have been a major subject of scrutiny—scrutiny that's only exacerbated by Trump's repeated unwillingness to disclose them.
But this caginess hasn't stopped New York Attorney General Letitia James from investigating the Trump Organization. This past January, James filed a petition with the New York Supreme Court, accusing the real estate company of misleading financial institutions and the Internal Revenue Service about the value of its assets, laying out a potential pattern of fraud in an effort to compel the testimony of Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump.
That filing comes just months after Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who left his position earlier this year, charged the Trump Organization with running a 15 year scheme that shielded its executives from taxes through the provision of benefits outside the scope of authorities.
Trump has predictably railed against James' investigation as a "witch hunt," and sued James for what he says are unfair investigations into his businesses.
Though the former President may think the case is meritless, his accounting firm—or, rather, his former accounting firm—is taking the investigation seriously. Mazars USA cut ties with Trump and his organization earlier this month, saying in a letter that the past decade of the Trump Organization's financial statements were no longer reliable amid the ongoing civil and criminal fraud investigations.
The letter read in part:
"Due in part to our decision regarding the financial statements, as well as the totality of the cirucmstances, we have also reached the point such that there is a non-waivable conflict of interest with the Trump Organization. As a result, we are not able to provide any new work product to the Trump Organization."
The news generated much discussion social media.
I would call it a bombshell development and not just a big development. We all have been saying this for a decade that Trump has been inflating the values of his business assets. Finally it is official. https://t.co/13WCJwy3mi
— Mahendran D. Naidu (@mdnaidu) February 16, 2022
Nothing irritates me more than someone not paying their fair share of taxes after I have to or I’ll get property taken in lieu of what I owe. https://t.co/1B4236E14N
— Terri (@canallady01) February 17, 2022
Welcome news. https://t.co/yvaBVjTTJP
— Sharon D D Dymond (@SharonDDDymond) February 15, 2022
Donald lied. I am shocked. https://t.co/HaCTOU47g9
— bad websites (@badwebsites) February 15, 2022
As with most financial frauds, when the accountants quit we know there's more to come....
Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements https://t.co/SXHDmwleF9
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 14, 2022
Trump is a criminal.
He's always been a criminal.
Criminals belong in jail.https://t.co/CEe9AD4iqI
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) February 14, 2022
Some think Trump's goose just might be cooked.
This will prove to be disastrous for Trump. https://t.co/dL6ZAhgtLJ
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) February 14, 2022
I’m gonna go out on a not-so-precarious limb and guess that some of Trump’s lenders will be calling their respective loans in light of the Mazars bombshell.
Siri, how much would Mar-a-Lago auction for?
— Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) February 15, 2022
Yes. Walls are closing in on Trump. He will finally get his wall -- and three more to make it fair and "sqare". https://t.co/icdjt87dYh
— Jaydeep Nanavaty (@NanavatyJ) February 17, 2022
The New York Supreme Court Justice overseeing the case has since ruled that Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, must sit for depositions with the New York Attorney General's office.
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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images