Former President Donald Trump has appealed a judge’s ruling requiring him to testify in a New York civil investigation into his business practices.
Appropriate papers were filed on Monday with the appellate division of the state's trial court by a legal team representing the ex-POTUS and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
The Trumps’ lawyers have asked the appellate court to consider if the New York attorney general’s office is violating their rights by issuing subpoenas for their testimony while also participating in the criminal investigation; whether immunity for grand jury witnesses under state law can be “eviscerated, if the same agency involved in the criminal investigation simply opens a ‘civil’ investigation into the very same matters”; and whether Judge Engoron made a mistake rejecting the Trumps’ argument that Attorney General of New York Letitia James has been waging selective prosecution.
Trump’s lawyers argue that if the Trumps are ordered to testify under oath, their answers could be used in a parallel criminal probe. A Manhattan criminal investigation resulted in criminal charges last summer against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg.
In July, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged the Trump Organization with orchestrating a 15-year scheme allowing its executives to dodge taxes by compensating them with hidden fringe benefits.
Furthermore, Trump and his business currently face civil and criminal inquiries into his business dealings and political activities in several states.
On Monday the lawyers requested the appellate court for a stay to spare the Trumps from questioning as the matter is being considered. No court date has yet been set for arguments.
In a statement on 28 February, when lawyers for the Trumps were preparing to file the appeal, Letitia James indicated readiness to fight to get them to testify.
“Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump were ordered by the court to comply with our lawful investigation into Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings. While they have the right to seek a delay, they cannot deter us from following the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Make no mistake: My office will continue to pursue this case without fear or favour because no one is above the law,” James said in the statement.
If Judge Engoron’s decision is upheld, Trump might have to decide whether to answer questions, or cite his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.
‘Politically Motivated Attack’
While New York attorney general, Letitia James, a Democrat, has been working with Manhattan prosecutors on their criminal investigation, she is also heading a parallel civil inquiry since 2019 into whether Trump’s company misled lenders about the value of its assets.
Prosecutors have suspected the company management of fraudulently inflating the latter to secure bank loans, while in other cases underestimating them to reduce taxes.
In an eight-page ruling on 17 February Judge Arthur Engoron set a March 10 deadline for Trump and his children to sit for depositions, denying “the motion by respondents Donald J. Trump, Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. to quash subpoenas issued by the petitioner” in December 2021. The judge added that after reviewing the case, he determined there was sufficient basis for continuing the investigation.
James earlier said that she had uncovered "significant evidence" indicating that the Trump Organization engaged in fraud to obtain economic benefits, "including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions."
Trump stepped down as CEO of the Trump Organization in 2017 after taking office, passing the business on to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric.
The 45th US President has repeatedly claimed that the probe into the company’s financial activities is a “politically motivated attack” by the Democratic Party. Trump filed a lawsuit against James, accusing her of “political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent.”