Donald Trump is returning to Manhattan Thursday to be deposed for a second time as part of New York state’s $250 million civil lawsuit accusing the former president of manipulating the value of his assets for years to dupe banks and insurers.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump is returning to Manhattan Thursday to be deposed for a second time as part of New York state’s $250 million civil lawsuit accusing the former president of manipulating the value of his assets for years to dupe banks and insurers.
Trump said in a post on social media that he is due at the offices of New York Attorney General Letitia James in Lower Manhattan at 9:30 a.m. and accused her — without evidence — of leaking the arrival time.
“The leak makes it much more difficult for the Police and Secret Service to do their job,” Trump said in the post. “This civil case is ridiculous, just like all of the other Election Interference cases being brought against me. If I had a fair judge, this case would have never happened. MAGA!”
The visit to James’s office near Wall Street will be Trump’s second excursion to New York in less than two weeks. He appeared in court less than a mile away on April 4 to plead not guilty in a criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump is accused in that case of falsifying business records to hide a hush-money payment to a porn star.
James previously deposed Trump in August, as she was wrapping up her three-year investigation into the former president’s business dealings. During that appearance, Trump pleaded his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination and didn’t answer any questions other than to confirm his name.
Trump Deposition Day: Invoking the Fifth in Showdown With AG
It’s unclear what Trump will do this time around. His lawyer Alina Habba didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Another Trump lawyer, Armen Morian, who previously worked in the the New York attorney general’s office, declined to comment.
Former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers said she expects Trump will assert his Fifth Amendment rights again during his second depositions with James in her civil case, given her close ties to Bragg and the wide-ranging nature of Bragg’s ongoing probe.
“As far as is publicly known — and the Manhattan DA has not said otherwise — Trump remains under criminal investigation for this exact conduct by the DA, so I expect he will follow what is certainly the advice of his lawyers and decline to answer questions about his conduct on this topic.”
Trump will likely be asked hundreds of questions about his role in assessing the value of a range of assets that are central to the case, including his 40 Wall Street tower and a 212-acre property outside Manhattan. The complaint spans more than 200 pages.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in both the civil and criminal cases and claims they are part of a broader “witch hunt” intended to hurt him politically as he seeks to return to the White House in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump, His Company and Kids Ordered to Face NY Fraud Suit
James sued Trump, three of his children and his company in September, alleging they inflated the value of his assets for years to dupe banks and insurers into giving them better terms. James, a Democrat who campaigned on promises to go after Trump, is seeking penalties including a permanent ban on the four Trumps running companies in New York, their home state.
The case is set to go to trial in October.
James cooperated closely with Bragg as he conducted his investigation — a partnership that resulted in their offices teaming up for a criminal case against the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. The former executive pleaded guilty while a jury found Trump’s company guilty of tax crimes following a trial.
(Updates with Trump’s social-media post.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.