Trump Appears for Deposition in New York Attorney General’s Civil Lawsuit

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower the day after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home, in New York on Aug. 9, 2022. David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters

Former President Donald Trump arrived at the offices of the New York attorney general on April 13 for his second deposition in a legal dispute over his company’s business practices.

The Republican was slated to meet with attorneys for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a lawsuit against Trump in 2022.

According to James’s lawsuit, Trump and his family misled banks and business partners by providing them with fraudulent information about his net worth and the value of his assets, such as hotels and golf courses.

The lawsuit is unconnected to the felony criminal charges filed by the Manhattan district attorney against Trump, which resulted in his historic arraignment last week, the first of a former president.

Trump attorney Alina Habba told The Epoch Times: “President Trump is not only willing but also eager to testify before the attorney general today. He remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the attorney general about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company.”

Trump spoke out on Truth Social about his appearance, writing in an April 12 post that he had arrived in the city for “another unjust and ridiculous persecution of the 45th President of the United States,” calling James a “racist” and “Trump-hating attorney general.”

“I built a great and prosperous company, employed thousands of people, built magnificent structures all over the world, but particularly in New York, and now have to prove it to this lowlife who campaigned on ‘I will get Trump’ platform, even before knowing anything about me!” Trump wrote.

He met with James’s attorneys on Aug. 10, 2022, but refused to answer all but a few procedural questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, The Trump Organization, three of his children, and others over alleged fraud on Sept. 21, 2022.

Her office alleges in a 200-page lawsuit that the fraud affected every aspect of the Trump family business, including golf courses and other properties.

The lawsuit also alleges that The Trump Organization inflated the value of his properties to deceive insurers, tax officials, and lenders.

“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization—including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit reads.

In addition to the former president, the suit names his children Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump as defendants. The complaint also named Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of The Trump Organization, and Jeff McConney, another executive.

Zachary Stieber and the Associated Press contributed to this report.