Trump Answered New York Prosecutors’ Questions For Nearly 8 Hours

Topline

Former President Donald Trump answered New York state prosecutors’ questions in an eight-hour grilling on Thursday — reversing course from a prior deposition in which he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights — as part of New York’s civil lawsuit alleging the Trump Organization fraudulently inflated the value of its assets in a bid to secure more favorable loans.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Thursday, April. 13, 2023. (AP … [+] Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Associated Press

Key Facts

Trump arrived at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in downtown Manhattan just before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday and left shortly after 6 p.m.

A spokesperson for the AG’s office told NBC News Trump “spoke a lot” during the deposition, without offering additional details, other than to say New York Attorney General Letitia James was not present.

Trump lawyer Christopher Kise told reporters he described “in detail his extraordinary business success,” while predicting that “when the facts of [Trump’s] success, and not politically engineered soundbites, are out in the open, everyone will scoff at the notion any fraud took place.”

Trump “answered every question and as we have said from day one there is absolutely no case,” his attorney, Alina Habba, told Bloomberg.

The deposition was Trump’s second in the case: in his first testimony before the AG’s office in August, Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right nearly 400 times in refusing to answer prosecutors’ questions

Key Background

Trump returned to Manhattan on Thursday after pleading not guilty last week to 34 counts of falsifying business records in a separate case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that alleges he orchestrated a broad hush-money scheme to cover up allegations of three separate affairs. James’ office questioned Trump on Thursday in connection with a $250 million civil lawsuit her office filed in September that alleges he inflated the values of more than 20 properties and assets he owns, including Mar-A-Lago and his penthouse at Trump Tower. The AG’s findings could potentially be shared with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which is also weighing charges against Trump for allegedly overstating his worth to curry favor with lenders, the New York Times noted. Trump has claimed both investigations are politically motivated, calling James a “racist” in a Truth Social post on Thursday, while accusing her of leaking the time of his deposition.

Surprising Fact

Trump’s children, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump are also named as defendants in the lawsuit and have sat for questioning before James’ office. Donald Trump Jr. denied any involvement in preparing the company’s financial statements during his deposition in July, CNN reported.

Tangent

New York State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron denied Trump’s request to throw out James’ lawsuit in January, while accusing his lawyers of making “frivolous” arguments. Trump’s lawyers argued that he was being “singled out and subject to selective treatment” by James, while describing the case as a “witch hunt”—a term Trump has repeatedly used in reference to the various criminal investigations against him.

What To Watch For

The AG’s case against Trump is slated to go to trial in October. He could face trial as soon as January in the Manhattan District Attorney’s case against him, though his lawyers have requested it be pushed to spring of next year.

Trump Answered New York Prosecutors’ Questions For Nearly 8 Hours —Everything We Know About The Deposition