Former President Donald Trump’s attempt to dodge a sworn deposition in New York’s probe of potentially “misleading” asset valuations at his sprawling real-estate company should be rejected, the state’s top law enforcement officer told an appeals court.
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“The investigation has uncovered significant evidence potentially indicating that, for more than a decade, these financial statements relied on misleading asset valuations and other misrepresentations to secure economic benefits,” James said in the filing. The depositions are necessary to determine if fraud occurred “and who may be responsible for any such fraud,” she added.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the filing.
Criminal probe
Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump appealed the Feb. 17 order requiring them to sit for depositions,
The Trumps also contend that James is impermissibly using her civil subpoenas to assist an ongoing criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. James’s office is participating in that case, which has resulted in tax-fraud charges against the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
The attorney general said in her filing Monday that civil subpoenas “do not compel appellants to provide information that may be used against them in a future criminal case” and noted that the Trumps were free to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination during their depositions.
James, a Democrat, has previously said the investigation started in 2019 uncovered evidence of potential fraud at the Manhattan-based real estate company. The attorney general’s Monday filing reiterated her preliminary findings as the state seeks to affirm a court order that the Trumps be deposed.
The case is New York v. Trump Organization, 2022-00814, Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division First Department (Manhattan).
