(Trends Wide) — Donald Trump appeared Thursday as part of a high-stakes civil case brought by the state of New York against the former president, some of his children and his sprawling business empire.
The former president responded to numerous questions in the statement before the New York Attorney General’s office, a source familiar with the matter said, which lasted nearly seven hours plus breaks.
Former President Donald Trump reacts as he leaves his residence in New York on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Credit: Seth Wenig/AP
The lawsuit, filed last September by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges that Trump, his children Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, and the Trump Organization participated in a vast plot that lasted more than a decade of providing false financial statements to lenders and others that the former president used to enrich himself.
The lawsuit seeks $250 million and a ban on the Trumps from doing business in the state. The trial is scheduled for October. The Trumps have denied any wrongdoing.
The former president’s statement is part of the discovery process in the case, and his lawyer said Thursday that he was prepared to answer James’ questions, a notable difference from his refusal to answer his team’s questions during a statement that took place. one month before the claim was filed.
Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, said in a statement that “he remains steadfast in his position that he has nothing to hide, and wants to inform the attorney general about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company.”
James was in the room for at least part of the meeting, according to the source.
In a civil case, if a defendant asserts the Fifth Amendment, the jury can make what is known as an “adverse inference” and weigh against Trump for refusing to answer questions.
Thursday’s appearance marked the first time Trump has returned to New York since last week he pleaded not guilty in Manhattan criminal court to 34 counts of falsifying business records following an investigation into hush money payments made. to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
After Trump’s first appearance in August, the former president and his legal team have been able to gather more information about the allegations against him as they have received documents and other materials.
The three Trump children named in the case were also subpoenaed to testify by the Attorney General’s Office last year, where Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr, responded to prosecutors, while Eric Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right in 2020 in response to more than 500 questions.
In a new campaign video released Thursday, Trump said that if elected he would appoint 100 new US attorneys to fight what he described as “communist corruption” while lashing out at the US judicial system and making unsubstantiated claims of bias on the part of district attorneys across the country.
The former president argued that district attorneys and their staffs in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles should be subpoenaed without providing any explanation or proof of such action. He promised to “completely overhaul the federal Department of Justice and the FBI” and launch “extensive civil rights investigations into local Marxist district attorneys.”
He also said there would be a “full investigation into the use of police state tactics by federal authorities to detain conservatives and Christians.”
