Trump Set To Testify In New York Attorney General’s Civil Investigation Into His Business

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Former President Donald Trump said he will meet New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday where he is expected to testify as part of the state’s civil investigation into his real estate business—one of the longest running ongoing legal cases involving the former president.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York.

Key Facts

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump targeted James—who is Black—by calling her “racist” and referring to her investigation into his businesses as “the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!”

Trump added that he and his “great company” were being “attacked from all sides” and called the country a “Banana Republic”—a term other Republican leaders used as they reacted angrily to the FBI’s search of the former president’s Florida home in an unrelated case.

James’ office says it has gathered significant evidence of wrongdoing but had sought testimony both from Trump and two of his adult children—Donald Jr. and Ivanka.

Key Background

Earlier this year, James’ office accused the Trump organization of using “fraudulent or misleading” valuations to obtain loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions. in a court filing, as it sought to compel him to testify under oath. The filing also alleged that the company’s financial statements were inflated as “as part of a pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared.” James, whose office has been conducting the investigation since 2019, previously issued multiple subpoenas seeking the former president’s testimony which Trump’s legal team unsuccessfully tried to block. While James’s investigation is a civil case, Trump still faces potential criminal charges in a parallel case being investigated by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

Tangent

On Monday, FBI agents carried out a search of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida as part of a separate federal probe into potential violation of federal laws by the former president with regards to the handling of sensitive White House records. In January, the National Archives and Records Administration received 15 boxes containing government documents from the Trump-era White House, including “classified national security information” from Mar-A-Lago. Despite returning the documents Trump may have broken federal record-keeping laws by taking them to his private residence after leaving office.

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