A Judge ruled that former President Donald Trump and his two eldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump must testify under oath in New York AG civil investigation into his business practices, the Associated Press reports.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two children to comply with a subpoena issued by NY AG Letitia James within the next 21 days.
“In the final analysis, a State Attorney General commences investigating a business entity, uncovers copious evidence of possible financial fraud, and wants to question, under oath, several of the entities’ principals, including its namesake. She has the clear right to do so.” Engoron wrote in his decision.
James is conducting a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization committed fraud in reporting the value of certain properties to banks and tax authorities.
Last month, James’ office asked a court to compel Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump to testify under oath, saying it found ‘significant evidence’ that the Trump Organization committed fraud.
“We have uncovered significant evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent and misleading asset valuations on multiple properties to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions for years,” James said in a statement at the time.
“Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump have all been closely involved in the transactions in question, so we won’t tolerate their attempts to evade testifying in this investigation,” James added.
Trump’s other son, Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, have previously sat for depositions in the civil investigation in 2020 and invoked their Fifth Amendment rights hundreds of times.
If Trump testifies in the civil investigation anything he said can be used against him in the criminal investigation in the Manhattan DA’s office. This puts Trump in a very difficult situation; answer questions or invoke his fifth amendment which he has criticized others for doing in the past saying only “the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
