Donald Trump’s longtime assistant has been subpoenaed as the investigation into the former president’s real estate business continues.
The New York attorney general’s office issued the subpoena for Rhona Graff, ordering her to give testimony under oath next week.
Attorney general Letitia James plans to ask Graff, who was Trump’s executive assistant and worked for him from 1987 until April 2021, how involved Trump was in the preparation of annual financial statements.
The line of questioning is being determined by what James felt were holes in Graff’s written statement.
“Did [Trump] ever review the statement in draft form before he signed the final version each year?” special litigation counsel Andrew Amer wrote in a court filing. “Did he annotate any drafts with comments and/or questions?” Amer continued. “If so, what happened to those drafts? In what form was the final version of the statement presented for Mr Trump’s approval in each year? How did he make his approval clear? Ms Graff’s affidavit does not say.”
James has said her three-year probe uncovered evidence the Trump Organization misstated the value of assets such as skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for more than a decade. Trump denies the allegations and has called James’ investigation “racist” and a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
