A financial statement from Donald Trump's sister led to a New York Times report on his taxes

Craig, along with reporters David Barstow and Russ Buettner, began investigating the company. People familiar with the patriarch of the family, Fred Trump, told them that All County was an "intermediary entity created by President Trump and his siblings, basically to transfer the money. money from Fred Trump's companies to his kids, "said the Times.

Barry, along with President Trump and their younger brother, Robert, were the executors of their father's estate. As such, he filed his tax return 15 months after his death in 1999, notes the Times.

The involvement of the judge in the practices described in the Times' story is not clear. However, as one of the executors of her father's estate, she and her brothers were responsible for verifying the accuracy of her estate declaration, which the Times notes "perfectly illustrates the effectiveness of the tax strategies developed by The Trumps at the beginning of the 1990s.

"She signed the declaration of inheritance tax, she is required to provide accurate information to be truthful, she was a lawyer at the time," said Professor Lee-Ford Tritt, a professor of Law and Director of the Center for Estate Planning at the University of London. Florida Law School, told CNN Wednesday. Barry was also a practicing federal judge at the time of filing his father's tax returns.

Although the limitation period for pursuing possible criminal actions against the Trumps for the alleged projects outlined in the report has passed, civil penalties could be imposed if it turns out that tax evasion has occurred. been committed.

Barry could not be contacted for comment by CNN. She declined to comment to the Times. It is unclear to what extent she could have been aware of any tax regime.

In a statement, President Trump's lawyer, Charles Harder, said there was no fraud or tax evasion. The White House issued a statement Tuesday night calling this "misleading attack" and criticizing the New York Times and other media outlets.

In a statement to the Times, Robert Trump said that "all the appropriate income and estate returns have been filed and the required fees paid."

The New York State Department of Tax and Finance said it would "vigorously pursue" the investigative tracks in the light of the report. And on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters that the city would work with the state and "examine all the stones" to recover Trump's unpaid taxes.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has no limitation period for civil tax evasion.

Tritt, a law professor, said, "If the IRS determines that Fred Trump owes more money, they can consult the recipients of his estate and try to recover the money and ask for the refund It would be a complicated process. "

Barry, 81, the oldest of the Trump brothers, was appointed to the New Jersey Federal Judiciary in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. Prior to that, she spent nine years as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, becoming the first Assistant Attorney of the United States.

"At the time, I was one of the most senior lawyers in the US Attorney's Offices in the country," she wrote in a questionnaire sent in 1999 at the Judiciary Committee of the Senate when she was appointed to the United States Circuit Appellate Court, a position to which she was appointed by President Bill Clinton. In 2017, she became an inactive judge.