New York Attorney General Letitia James recently subpoenaed former President Donald Trump and two of his children, demanding their testimony as part of a civil investigation into the family's business practices, court documents show made public on Monday.
Messages requesting comment were left with lawyers for former President Trump and the attorney general's office.
The latter's attempt to obtain the testimony of the former president was publicly disclosed in December, but the filing of the lawsuit on Monday was the first public disclosure of investigators' interest in speaking to Ivanka and Donald Jr..
Another legal battle
The Trumps are expected to file a rejoinder in an attempt to overturn the subpoenas, setting the stage for a similar legal battle to the one that took place last year after Ms James' office cited to appear another Trump son, Eric.
The prosecutor's office then went to court to enforce a subpoena against him, and a judge forced him to testify.
The former president sued the prosecutor last month, seeking to end the investigation after she asked him to appear for a statement on January 7. Mr. Trump's lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges the investigation violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly veiled effort to publicly slander Trump and his associates."
Letitia James, a Democrat, has spent more than two years investigating whether the Trump Organization has misled banks or tax officials about the value of its assets - by inflating them for favorable loan terms or by minimizing them to achieve tax savings.
Although the civilian investigation is separate from a criminal investigation conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Ms. James's office was involved in both investigations.
Tax evasion charges
Earlier this year, former District Attorney Cyrus Vance gained access to the real estate mogul's tax records after a years-long fight that twice went to the US Supreme Court. Before stepping down at the end of last year, Mr. Vance called a new grand jury to hear evidence, as he debated whether he should add more counts. These moves resulted in tax evasion charges in July against the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Both investigations are linked in part to allegations made in news reports and by Mr. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that the businessman used to misrepresent the value of his assets.
Ms James' office has also issued subpoenas to local governments in connection with the civil investigation into the cases involving a Mr Trump property in upper Manhattan called Seven Springs and a tax benefit Trump received. for placing land in a conservation trust.
The attorney general also looked into similar issues involving an office building in New York, a hotel in Chicago, and a golf course near Los Angeles. His office has also won a series of court decisions forcing the Trump Organization and a law firm it hired to hand over numerous documents to him.