Donald Trump scores rare legal win as DA drops golf course tax probe

Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah, a Democrat, announced on Thursday that she has concluded a lengthy investigation that included examining whether the former president, who has been indicted twice, and his company, engaged in misleading practices to lower property taxes on their owned properties. Rocah stated that the decision was made after the investigation was done “objectively, and independent of politics, party affiliation and personal or political beliefs.”

No charges have been brought against Donald Trump or the Trump Organization as a result of the investigation. The probe, initiated in 2021, aimed to determine if Trump or his organization provided officials with inaccurate property valuations to reduce the tax obligations for the Trump National Golf Club located in Briarcliff Manor, which is approximately 29 miles north of midtown Manhattan. During the investigation, Rocah’s office issued subpoenas to obtain records from the golf course and the town of Ossining, which is responsible for handling the course’s tax matters.

In a strongly-worded post on his Truth Social platform, former President Donald Trump expressed his view that ending the investigation was “the honorable thing to do in that I did nothing wrong, but where and when do I get my reputation back? When will the other fake cases against me be dropped?”

Trump, who is currently seen as a frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has consistently criticized investigations into his business practices as politically motivated and labeled them as a partisan “witch hunt.” The Trump Organization has previously characterized Rocah’s probe as misguided and politically motivated.

Rocah’s announcement to close the case came shortly after Trump’s arraignment on separate charges in federal court in Miami related to mishandling classified documents and obstructing investigators. Trump also faces charges in Manhattan in connection with an alleged scheme to conceal extramarital affair allegations during his first presidential campaign.

Rocah, in an interview, reaffirmed “It’s really important, more important than ever in our country, to make sure that people understand that we have independent prosecutors, we have a justice system that operates independent of politics.”

“I can stand here and proudly say that I’m one of those prosecutors, and I look at every subject of any investigation, every organization that’s a subject of an investigation, the same way,” Rocah stated. The Trump Organization, like many property owners, has been actively involved in disputes with the town of Ossining over property tax assessments for the Briarcliff Manor golf course.

Initially, the Trump Organization valued the golf club at around $1.4 million for tax purposes. However, this estimate was later revised to $6.5 million. In contrast, the town consistently assessed the property at over $15 million over the years. Eventually, in 2021, a compromise was reached through a court ruling, reducing the assessment to $9.5 million for that year. As a result, the company received refunds totaling approximately $875,000 for overcharged back taxes.

Simultaneously, Trump and his company have faced allegations of inflating asset values to impress lenders and business associates. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Trump and the Trump Organization, asserting that they provided false information regarding Trump’s net worth and the value of assets such as hotels and golf courses to banks and others. The lawsuit, scheduled for trial in October, includes allegations that the company inflated the value of the Briarcliff Manor golf club by millions of dollars by including fees for unsold or unpaid memberships.