9 April 2022, 02:23 • 5 minutes reading Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email this article The New York Attorney General’s Office asked a judge Friday to force Cushman & Wakefield to comply with summonses issued in connection with a political investigation into former President Donald Trump. The coercion proposal was followed by two summonses, one issued last February and another in September last year, seeking documents and records related to many of Trump’s properties: 40 Wall Street, a Manhattan skyscraper. Seven Springs, an estate in Westchester, New York. and Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. Cushman & Wakefield handled the valuations of these properties, which have been put under political scrutiny by the attorney general’s office for possible manipulation, as the Trump Organization sought tax cuts and favorable lending terms. Trump and the Trump Organization have denied any wrongdoing. ABC News contacted both of them to comment on the new request of the Attorney General. Cushman & Wakefield, which has not been charged with the offense, complied with a summons issued early in the investigation, but said the two most recent ones were too extensive and amounted to harassment of the company. “Cushman & Wakefield’s work for the Trump organization is crucial to our ongoing investigation into Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial practices,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “There can be no doubt that information about Cushman’s evaluation of Trump’s work is relevant to our efforts and that Cushman – like any other party – can not defy a legitimate summons because no one is above him. of law “. In a statement to ABC News, Cushman & Wakefield wrote: “Any allegation that Cushman & Wakefield did not respond in good faith to the Attorney General’s inquiry is fundamentally untrue. Attorney General’s records do not accurately reflect Cushman & Wakefield’s responses to previous calls and We stand behind the appraisers and our work “. In this January 24, 2021 archive photo, a pedestrian walks past the Trump Building in New York. The brokerage, which also leased offices on many of Trump’s properties, severed ties with Trump after the Jan. 6 uprising in the US Capitol, saying in a statement at the time: “Cushman & Wakefield has decided to no longer active. with the Trump Organization “. Trump bought Seven Springs, a 212-acre property in Mount Kisco, New York, in 1995, hoping to develop a golf course and, when rejected, luxury homes. In 2004, the Trump Organization valued the property at $ 80 million. in 2007 they valued it at $ 200 million. and by 2012, they valued it at $ 291 million, based on the claim that the property was divided into zones for nine homes worth $ 161 million of alleged profit, the attorney general’s office said. Two separate professional appraisers assessed the lots that were supposed to grow in price fractions used in Trump’s statement of financial position, the attorney general’s office said. New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks at a press conference at the 1199 SEIU headquarters on March 21, 2022, in New York. The attorney general’s office has also raised questions about the true value of Trump’s 40 Wall Street lease. External estimates made by Cushman & Wakefield in 2010-2012 for Capital One, which owned a $ 160 million mortgage on the building, estimated Trump’s interest in the property at between $ 200 million and $ 220 million. During the same period, according to the attorney general’s office, Trump’s financial statements showed that 40 Wall Street was valued at $ 601.8 million in 2010, $ 524.7 million in 2011, $ 527.2 million in 2012, and $ 530.7 million in 2013. These values were between two and three times what was recorded in the three consecutive assessments.
