Trump Org Accounting Firm Quits, Says 10 Years Financial Statements Contain Material Discrepancies

Former US President Donald Trump's accounting firm, Mazars, has cut ties with his company. It also informed the Trump Organization that it should no longer rely on almost 10 years' worth of financial statements.

Mazars wrote in a letter to the Trump Organization chief legal officer last week, informing them to no longer rely on financial statements from June 2011 to June 2020, reported CNN. The firm wrote that they arrived at the conclusion based, in part, "upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General on Jan. 18, 2022, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources."

The firm also said that they have not concluded that the various financial statements, as a whole, contain "material discrepancies." But based upon the totality of the circumstances, they believe "our advice to you to no longer rely upon those financial statements is appropriate."

Mazars’ letter was made public in a court filing Monday, according to the Associated Press. It came weeks after New York Attorney General Letitia James said that her civil probe uncovered evidence that Trump and his organization used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its skyscrapers, golf clubs and other properties to get tax and loans benefits.

Mazars also said that it would no longer be Trump's accountant, citing a "non-waivable conflict of interest." The firm said that the only work not done was the filing of Trump and his wife Melania Trump's tax returns.

The former President's main accountant, Donald Bender, reportedly testified before the grand jury investigating the Trump Organization in 2021.

A Trump Organization spokesperson said Monday that they are disappointed that Mazars has chosen to quit. But the spokesperson added that the firm's Feb. 9, 2022 letter confirms that "after conducting a subsequent review of all prior statements of financial condition, Mazars' work was performed in accordance with all applicable accounting standards and principles." The spokesperson also said that such statements of "financial condition do not contain any material discrepancies." According to the spokesperson, this confirmation "effectively renders the investigations by the DA and AG moot."

Apart from the New York attorney general, Manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating the accuracy of Trump's financial statements to determine whether any lenders, insurers or others were misled.

Meanwhile, in another development, John Eastman, a law professor who helped craft Trump's false argument that the 2020 election was stolen from him, has handed over almost 8,000 pages of emails to the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, reported CNN. But he held back about 11,000 pages because it is what he calls privileged material, according to a court filing Sunday.