Faces deposition in New York AG James fraud lawsuit

Former US President Donald Trump is set to be deposed in New York City on Thursday as part of a $250 million civil lawsuit alleging widespread fraud by him and his company. The lawsuit was filed by New York attorney general Letitia James against Trump, three of his adult children, the Trump Organization, and others last September. The suit accuses Trump of repeatedly overstating the values of his assets in statements to banks, insurance companies, and the IRS in order to obtain better loan and tax terms. James also wants to bar Trump’s companies from doing business in New York and to permanently stop the Trump children from serving as an officer of a company in the state.

Trump, who flew from his home state of Florida to New York for the deposition, faces multiple criminal and civil proceedings as he makes a third bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Last month, he surrendered to authorities in New York, following his indictment in a separate criminal case centered on hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in that case, which is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said that the former president is “not only willing but also eager to testify before the Attorney General today.” Trump himself accused James of leaking that the deposition was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET. In August 2021, before James filed the fraud suit, Trump sat for a deposition with her office and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times.

Trump’s social media posts ahead of the deposition, which called James a “racist” and a “lowlife” who was biased against him, were condemned by activists and lawmakers as racist and misogynistic. Trump criticized James, who is the first Black woman to hold her title, for being biased against him.



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