NY attorney general subpoenas federal agency for Trump DC hotel records

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D)has subpoenaed the General Services Administration (GSA) for information that may explain how the government agency ended up selecting the Trump Organization to lease the post office where he built his Washington, D.C.,-based hotel.

According to The Washington Post, inside sources familiar with the situation spoke under the condition of anonymity as they shared details about the inquiry which seeks to determine whether or not former President Donald Trump "inflated his net worth to secure the lease."

James alleges that the Trump Organization's presentation to the GSA suggested “Trump’s real estate investments are funded from Donald J. Trump’s significant net worth, which is composed of a wide range of capitalized affiliates." Included in the presentation was a copy of "Trump’s Statement of Financial Condition."

Per The Post:

"The documents James sought included a scorecard GSA used to rank Trump’s bid against those of other developers who proposed leasing and redeveloping the federally owned Old Post Office Pavilion downtown. That information could fit into James’s broadereffort to show a pattern of Trump giving false information to business partners, banks, and insurers to secure loans and other deals."

The latest development follows similar concerns raised by the House Oversight Committee. Back in October, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) highlighted a report that suggests Trump may have provided the GSA with misleading information in an effort to seal the business deal.

In a letter addressed to GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, Maloney and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) detailed allegations about Trump's deal and how he may have “concealed hundreds of millions of dollars in debts from GSA when bidding on the Old Post Office Building lease.” The lawmakers also requested that an investigation be opened.

“If he walks away from this laughing all the way to the bank with a $100 million profit, we will have debased the whole concept of enforcing conflict of interests laws and ethics,” Connelly said at the time.

In wake of the investigation headed by James' office, Trump filed a lawsuit attempting to block the probe. However, James is pushing back against the suit.

According to recent filings, James’s office requested that a federal judge toss Trump's suit. “The public interest is served by having [the AG’s office] continue its Investigation into allegations of fraud and misrepresentation in Mr. Trump’s financial statements provided to financial institutions and the government,” one of the filings read.