The NY attorney general is looking for Trump’s testimony in the civil probe – troyrecord

[ad_1]

By MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) – The New York attorney general is seeking the testimony of former President Donald Trump in an ongoing civil investigation into his business practices, says a person familiar with the matter.

Attorney General Letitia James’s office requested that Trump sit down for a deposition on Jan. 7, according to the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

Trump representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A message seeking comment was left with Trump’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti. James’ office declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which conducts a parallel criminal investigation into Trump’s businesses, said Thursday that the interview request was “not part of the criminal investigation.”

Previously, the Republican ex-president decried the investigations as part of a “witch hunt.”

James, a Democrat, spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, had deceived banks or tax officials about the value of assets – raising them to get favorable loan terms or reduced them to reap tax savings.

Requesting Trump’s testimony is a first step in a process that could lead to the issuance of a subpoena and going to a judge to order him to cooperate if he refuses.

James announced running for governor of New York in late October, but on Thursday, he suspended that campaign and cited ongoing investigations into his decision to instead be re-elected as state attorney.

James’ investigators last year interviewed one of Trump’s sons, Trump Organization executive Eric Trump, as part of the probe. James’ office went to court to enforce a subpoena on the younger Trump and a judge forced him to testify after his lawyers abruptly canceled a scheduled deposit.

Although the civil investigation is separate from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s criminal investigation, James ’office is involved in the two. Earlier this year, Vance gained access to the tax records of the longtime real estate mogul after years of fighting that twice went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Vance, who will step down at the end of the year, recently convened a new grand jury to hear evidence as he weighs whether to seek more investigative charges, which resulted in tax fraud charges in July against Trump Organization and its longtime CFO. Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg is not guilty of allegations that he and the company evaded taxes on beneficial benefits paid to executives.

Asked about the status of the criminal investigation, Vance said last week: “I think it’s pretty clear that our investigation is active and ongoing.”

It is rare for law enforcement agencies to issue a civil subpoena for testimony from a person who is also the subject of a relevant criminal investigation.

That’s partly because the person under criminal investigation can only mention their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Trump’s lawyers are unlikely to allow him to be fired unless they are sure his testimony will not be used against him in a criminal case.

Both investigations are at least partly related to allegations made in news reports and by Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, that Trump has a history of misrepresentation of the value of assets.

James ’office issued subpoenas to local governments as part of the civil investigation for records related to Trump’s property north of Manhattan, Seven Springs, and a tax benefit Trump received for placing land in a conservation trust. Vance later issued subpoenas seeking many of the same records.

James ’office is also looking into similar issues related to a Trump office building in New York City, a hotel in Chicago and a golf course near Los Angeles. His office also won a series of court decisions forcing Trump’s company and a law firm it hired to turn over the records.

In October, Trump testified under oath behind closed doors for several hours during a deposition in a lawsuit brought by protesters claiming his security team raped them in the early days of his presidential campaign in 2015.

Trump faced a Dec. 23 deadline for questioning in the case of former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos ’defamation against him, but he dropped the case last month.

Trump did little to cooperate with special adviser Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference.

Mueller’s team of investigators has been seeking an interview with Trump for months and even once, Trump told the public he was willing to sit down with them, his lawyers have long resisted the call.

Instead, Trump’s lawyers in November 2018 submitted written responses on certain topics that Mueller’s team considered “inadequate.” Prosecutors in the matter ruled against subpoenaing Trump to force his testimony.

___

Associated Press reporters Jill Colvin in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak

[ad_2]