Former President Donald Trump will be questioned by the New York Attorney General’s office on Wednesday, as its years-long civil fraud investigation nears completion.
In a statement on his social network on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged his deposition in the wide-ranging inquiry. He labeled the probe a “witch hunt” and said that “my magnificent firm and I are being assaulted from all sides.”
For more than a year, New York Attorney General Letitia James has pursued Trump’s deposition as Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, battled subpoenas in three different New York courts. They were finally forced to take depositions, and Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were questioned earlier this month.
The subpoenas sought “testimony and records in connection with an inquiry into the value of properties owned or controlled by Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization, or any other subject which the Attorney General considers significant.”
Attorneys for James’ office have said in court that their probe has uncovered evidence that Trump and his firm used “fraudulent and false financial statements,” boosting asset values while seeking loans and insurance coverage then lowering their worth to decrease tax burden.
Trump and his companies have continually rejected any claims of impropriety.
During many court hearings this spring and summer, attorneys for James’ office signaled that the probe was approaching completion.
The former president’s deposition on Wednesday comes at a time of increased legal risk. The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday, seizing boxes of papers as part of an investigation into Trump’s handling of confidential information. A federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol disturbance is looking at contacts between some of Trump’s closest supporters, and a judge in Georgia on Tuesday ordered Trump’s former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to come before a special grand jury there.
Trump has denied any misconduct in either of these cases.
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