Former President Donald Trump arrived in New York on Thursday for a deposition in a civil suit brought by state Attorney General Letitia James that accuses him and his adult children of misrepresenting aspects of their family business for financial gain.
Mr. Trump’s attorney said the former president is willing to answer questions in the discovery phase of the case, which was filed last fall and seeks $250 million in damages and a prohibition on the Trump family’s business operations in New York.
“President Trump is not only willing but also eager to testify before the attorney general today. He remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the attorney general about the immense success of his multibillion-dollar company,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said.
Mr. Trump is returning to New York from his residence in Florida for the first time since his historic arraignment on April 4 on charges of falsifying business records. A grand jury indicted Mr. Trump after an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Ms. James’ civil case alleges Mr. Trump manipulated the value of his business assets to borrow money on more favorable terms, pay lower insurance premiums and face lower taxes. For instance, it claims Mr. Trump inflated the value of his apartment by listing it as 30,000 square feet instead of its actual size of 11,000 square feet.
The New York cases are part of a tangle of legal troubles for Mr. Trump as he launches a 2024 bid to retake the White House.
Special counsel Jack Smith is looking into the discovery of sensitive documents at Mr. Trump’s estate at Mar-a-Lago and whether anyone impeded archivists’ efforts to retrieve the records. He is also probing Mr. Trump’s actions following the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump says the investigations are politically motivated and designed to thwart his political ambitions. He leads the emerging GOP primary field by wide margins and says his fight against prosecutors in liberal areas is only making him stronger.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump said Ms. James campaigned on a pledge to investigate him and his business.
“I built a GREAT & prosperous company, employed thousands of people, built magnificent structures all over the World, but particularly in New York, & now have to prove it to this LOWLIFE who campaigned on a ’I will get Trump’ platform, even before knowing anything about me!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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