N.Y. AG Calls for Review of Data in Trump Civil Fraud Case

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office Thursday accused the Trump Organization of failing to produce evidence in the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his family, and called for an independent monitor to perform a forensic review of electronic data that was held by the organization from August to September 2016.

James' office said in a letter to Judge Arthur Engoron that it had "identified likely omissions" on documents the organization produced in connection with exchanges it made in 2016 with Forbes magazine about the value of Trump's real estate holdings, CNBC has reported.

Senior enforcement counsel Kevin Wallace, who wrote the letter, said that if the monitor determines during the review "that responsive information was not produced, she can provide an assessment of where in the process the failure occurred and propose remedies to ameliorate those issues."

He further wrote that the alleged failure "indicates a breakdown somewhere in the process" and suggests "potentially broader issues in the production progress."

James' lawsuit accuses Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr., The Trump Organization, and other top executives of overstating the true value of properties to obtain advantages on taxes and better terms on loans and insurance.

She is demanding $250 million in damages and is seeking to ban Trump and his sons from serving as officers for any business in New York.

The letter also cites a Forbes article from last week accusing former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg of lying on the stand during the trial, held in Manhattan Supreme Court, in hopes of distancing himself from financial statements involved in the case.

Forbes reported that Weisselberg falsely claimed on the stand that he had “never focused” on the valuation of Trump’s apartment, but said that his claims are not true, based on information it has from past research.

"A review of old emails and notes, some of which the attorney general’s office does not possess, show that Weisselberg absolutely thought about Trump’s apartment — and played a key role in trying to convince Forbes over the course of several years that it was worth more than it really was," Forbes said.

"Given the fact that these discussions continued for years and that Weisselberg took a very detailed approach in reviewing Trump’s assets with Forbes, it defies all logic to think he truly believes what he is now saying in court," the company claimed.

Wallace noted in Thursday’s letter that the defendants have “produced some documents reflecting ongoing exchanges with Forbes Magazine about the valuation of assets during August and September 2016.”

He wrote that Weisselberg had gotten financial information about the Trump golf courses as part of the exchanges.

"While Defendants have produced some emails in that exchange, it appears they have not produced a later set of emails” between Weisselberg and a real estate expert, Steven Ekovich," said Wallace.

He added that the alleged failure to produce the emails comes after "multiple affidavits on behalf of The Trump Organization attesting to the completion of their production obligations," and suggested an Oct. 27 deadline for the monitor's report on the financial investigation.

Trump has attended five days of the trial and he and his co-defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

Judge Arthur Engoron, the presiding judge in the case, has ruled that they are liable for fraud, with the trial to settle six other claims made by James.

The attorneys for Trump and Weisselberg did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC. Weisselberg has already served time in jail for tax fraud in another case related to his job with The Trump Organization.