Trump was purportedly “willing and eager” to answer New York Attorney General Letitia James’s questions.
Former President Donald Trump was deposed in a fraud-related lawsuit on Thursday.
According to NBC News, Trump spent an estimated eight hours answering questions at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office earlier this week.
Trump, writes NBC, arrived in James’ Lower Manhattan office on Thursday morning, leaving the area just after 6 o’clock in the evening.
A spokesperson for the attorney general said that Trump spoke at length, and that James was present for part of the deposition.
However, James’s office did not publish any additional information. It remains unclear what prosecutors asked the former president, or what Trump said during questioning.
Shortly after the deposition, though, Trump took to his social media platform—Truth Social—to share his feelings on the deposition.
“Another unjust & ridiculous persecution of the 45th President of the United States,” Trump wrote.
Trump also condemned other investigations into him and his business entities, branding them a form of “election interference” intended to undermine his chances of re-election in 2024.
Nevertheless, the former president said that James’s investigation will give him the opportunity to “finally be able to show what a great, profitable, and valuable company I built, actually, some of the greatest real estate assets anywhere in the world.”
Alina Habba, one of Trump’s more prominent personal attorneys, told reporters that the former president was “not only willing but eager to testify” before the attorney general.
NBC News notes that this was not the first time Trump has been summoned to New York to provide testimony.
In August, for instance, Trump was asked a series of question by James and other Manhattan-based prosecutors.
Trump, however, was not particularly forthcoming, and purportedly invoking his Fifth Amendment rights more than 400 times.
The former president is currently facing allegations that he, and his attorneys, falsified business records relating to hush money payments forwarded to adult actress Stormy Daniels.
The state prosecutor’s office has indicted Trump on 34 felony counts.
However, Trump’s deposition was conducted in relation to a civil lawsuit filed by James. The complaint names Trump, his three oldest children, and the Trump Organization as defendants.
The lawsuit broadly claims that Trump and his organization conspired to exaggerate the former president’s net worth, routinely over-valuing his investments and real estate holdings to secure more favorable terms from lenders.
James has asked the court to permanently bar Trump, and his adult children, from serving as the officers of New York-based companies.
The lawsuit also requests that the Trump Organization be prohibited from entering any commercial real estate transactions in New York for at least five years.
A jury trial is expected to begin in early October.
Sources
Trump faces deposition in New York AG Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit
Trump spends 8 hours at New York AG’s office for deposition in business fraud lawsuit
Join the conversation!