House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings has contacted the firm of President Trump's longtime accountant on Long Island and demanded financial statements and audit reports on a web of Trump business entities – in the latest flexing of congressional investigatory power.
In a newly revealed letter to the firm, Cummings seeks all communications between Trump and accountant Donald Bender – who has been publicly linked to Trump and whose firm has prepared tax returns for a variety of Trump entities, including the Donald J. Trump Foundation and the Eric Trump Foundation.
In the letter, to the firm of Mazars USA, Cummings asks for 'all communications between Donald Bender and Donald J. Trump or any employee or representative of the Trump Organization.'
Bender is the Long Island-based numbers cruncher who has been identified as Trump's accountant as far back as 2011.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is seeking financial documents to investigate claims Donald Trump 'inflated' his net worth when seeking loans
The letter seeks documents dating back to 2009 – and casts a wide net to include the president himself and many of his companies.
Those listed are the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization, the Trump Corporation, DJT Holdings LLC, the Trump Old Post Office LLC, the Trump Foundation, and ‘any parent, subsidiary, affiliate, joint venture, predecessor, or successor.’
The Trump Old Post Office LLC is a reference to the Trump company that holds a long term lease on the Old Post Office that is the site of Trump's luxury hotel in Washington, D.C. It is the subject of an Emoluments Clause lawsuit.
Rep. Cummings seeks all communications between Bender, the accountant, and Trump
Donald Bender, a Certified Public Accountant, has prepared returns for Trump entities
Accountant Donald Bender
The nature of the documents Cummings is digging for also is broad.
He asks for 'all statements of financial condition, annual statements, periodic financial reports and independent auditors' reports prepared, compiled, reviewed, or audited by Mazars USA LLP or its predecessor, WeiserMazars LLP.'
Bender is a Queens College graduate whose office is located in a single-story building in Woodbury, New York. According to his online bio, he leads the firm's Hospitality Group and Long Island Real Estate Practice. 'Donald acts as a trusted advisor to his clients, and uses his in-depth knowledge of a client’s business and individual structure to form effective problems solving solutions on tax issues,' it states.
Bender did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
The push for information comes as the White House has been holding firm and to date refusing all of Cummings requests for information about various governmental matters.
Cummings seeks 'all communications related to potential concerns that records, documents, explanations, or other information, including significant judgments, provided by Donald J. Trump or other individuals from the Trump Organization, were incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise unsatisfactory.
The letter, addressed to Victor Wahba, chairman and CEO of Mazars USA LLP, also seeks 10 years worth of President Trump's financial records to follow up on a claim that he inflated his net worth while trying to buy the Buffalo Bills.
Bender did prior accounting work for Trump with an earlier firm, Manhattan-based WeiserMazars.
Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen testified last month that Trump 'inflated' his overall net worth in financial statements provided to Deutsche Bank during his failed effort to buy the team. His bid sputtered in 2014.
'Mr. Cohen produced to the Committee financial statements from 2011, 2012, and 2013 that raise questions about the President's representations of his financial affairs on these forms and on other disclosures, particularly relating to the President's debts,' House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings wrote the accounting company.
'Several of these documents appear to have been signed by your firm.'
The letter also points to discrepancies in the forms provided by Cohen and the financial disclosure form Trump submitted as a candidate for president in 2015.
They note that the 2012 form omits debt totaling $75 million for a Chicago project and assets totaling $50 million for a Las Vegas project. 'It is unclear why certain debts connected to the Chicago property and assets related to the Las Vegas property were omitted and whether the omission was directed by President Trump or someone else,' Cummings wrote.
'It is unclear why certain debts connected to the Chicago property and assets related to the Las Vegas property were omitted and whether the omission was directed by President Trump or someone else,' the letter states.
Two top Republican on the panel wrote him to complain about what they call an 'ill-conceived inquiry.'
The lawmakers, Ranking Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina, say an inquiry about the 'private finances of private citizen Donald J. Trump appears to depart from responsible and legitimate oversight.' They call it an attempt to 'embarrass' the Trump administration.
Cummings wouldn't directly confirm the inquiry. 'We're looking at quite a few things. I'm not going to comment on that right now,' he told reporters in the Capitol Wednesday.
Cummings, asked about charges from Jordan and Meadows, responded: 'I know. I said they complain about everything I do. They complain about every single thing I do. And that's to be expected. We're just seeking the truth that's all.'
The investigation is said to have been prompted by longtime Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, testifying before congress that the President routinely 'inflated' valuations of his property empire
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings wrote accounting firm Mazars USA for years worth of documents
Cohen mentioned the failed Bills purchase in his bombshell congressional testimony, where he provided Trump financial statements – including 2011 and 2013 net worth assessments that differed by $4 billion.
'These documents and others were provided to Deutsche Bank on one occasion where I was with them in our attempt to obtain money so that we can put a bid on the Buffalo Bills,' Cohen testified at the Oversight Committee.
'I believe these numbers are inflated,' the former fixer said of the valuations generally.
The Republican lawmakers wrote that the Cummings letter to the international accounting firm was dated March 20, before Mueller turned in his report and suddenly had Democrats playing defense on a raft of investigations.
On Tuesday, Trump personal lawyerJay Sekulow denied Congress has a 'legitimate' interest in seeking the president's tax returns. The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee has furnished a request for the returns from the Treasury. Trump is the first party nominee in decades not to release his returns.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio blasted the inquiry
Two Republicans on the committee wrote Cummings to complain about the request for information
Reps. Jordan and Meadows called it an 'ill-conceived' inquiry into Trump when he was a 'private citizen'
Trump's 2011 form showed $4.6 billion in assets
The documents show a Trump net worth of $8.6 billion in 2013
The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, pictured earlier this year, has reportedly subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for documents relating to financing of three Trump hotels and the attempt to secure a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014
Trump labeled the New York probe part of the 'Witch Hunt'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/28/democrats-tell-donald-trumps-accountant-to-hand-over-everything-he-has-done-for-the-president/
Main photo article House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings has contacted the firm of President Trump’s longtime accountant on Long Island and demanded financial statements and audit reports on a web of Trump business entities – in the latest flexing of congressional investigatory power.
In a newly ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/27/19/11534752-6857437-image-a-45_1553715080175.jpg
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