Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, President Trump, Donald Trump, Jr.
Share this @internewscast.com

Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, President Trump, Donald Trump, Jr.

Former President Donald Trump failed in his latest bid to avoid answering questions under oath as part of an ongoing civil investigation into his namesake company’s business practices brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

“Once again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump must comply with our lawful investigation into his financial dealings,” James said in a press release welcoming the ruling. “We will continue to follow the facts of this case and ensure that no one can evade the law.”

The underlying action is based on allegations the Trump Organization inflated the value of certain business assets in order to obtain more favorable loan terms while also fraudulently deflating the value of other assets in order to secure lower property tax rates.

Trump and his two oldest adult children, Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump, have been resisting subpoenas to give deposition testimony since those requests were made in December 2021. The overarching lawsuit against the family business was filed in August 2020.

According to James, Eric Trump asserted his Fifth Amendment right more than 500 times during his deposition in October 2020.

In February of this year, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron declined to quash civil subpoenas and depositions for the remaining members of the Trump family, writing in an 8-page ruling that it “would have been a blatant dereliction of duty (and would have broken an oft repeated campaign promise)” for the attorney general not to investigate those fraud allegations that came via “sworn congressional testimony by former Trump associate Michael Cohen that respondents were ‘cooking the books.’”

On February 27, 2019, Cohen appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to provide testimony about alleged crimes committed by his former friend and employer. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went on to elicit testimony from Cohen that Trump provided inflated assets to insurance companies and that his tax returns also likely contained similar financial improprieties.

RELATED: AOC’s Grilling of Michael Cohen Was What Led to NY AG’s Fraud Case Against Trump Businesses, Eric Trump

In a 4-page ruling from the Appellate Division of the First Judicial Department of Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, a panel of judges upheld the lower court’s denial of the Trumps’ motion to quash.

Trump’s attorneys have argued that having to answer questions under oath in the investigation would violate their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The judges rejected that argument. Trump’s attorneys have also sought to cast James as unethical for making good on her above-referenced campaign promises to investigate the Trump family’s fortunes. That argument was also unconvincing.

“The political campaign and other public statements made by [James] about appellants do not support the claim that [James] initiated, or is using, the subpoenas in this civil investigation to obtain testimony solely for use in a criminal proceeding or in a manner that would otherwise improperly undermine appellants’ privilege against self-incrimination,” the ruling notes. “Neither does the record suggest that, in the absence of a civil investigation, [James] would be likely to grant immunity to appellants – the primary subjects of the criminal investigation – to secure their grand jury testimony. Thus, the subpoenas did not frustrate any right to testify with immunity.”

The ruling also dismisses claims that the Trump Organization was targeted as the result of “selective prosecution”:

[The Office of the Attorney General] began its investigation after public testimony of a senior corporate insider and reviewed significant volumes of evidence before issuing the subpoenas. Appellants have not identified any similarly implicated corporation that was not investigated or any executives of such a corporation who were not deposed. Therefore, appellants have failed to demonstrate that they were treated differently from any similarly situated persons…

Read the full ruling below:

[Image via TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images]

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Gainesville Woman Arrested After Allegedly Using Vehicle to Hit Man and Two Ducks

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shalecia Labria Garrison, 33, was taken into…

Accurate Description of Tattoos: Lead on Fugitive Child Killer Travis Decker

Authorities in Idaho state that a family who reported spotting the accused…

Autistic Man in Florida Accused of Making Threatening Remarks Against Trump: Sheriff

Inset: Nicholas Gallo (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office). Background: President Donald Trump…

Major Childcare Provider to Install CCTV in All Locations Following Child Abuse Allegations

The operator of several childcare centres where accused child sexual abuser Joshua…

Teenager kills girlfriend and stages it as a suicide

Left: Nathaniel N. Archuleta (Peoria County Jail). Right: Mary Halcomb (Dignity Memorial).…

NEWS UPDATE: Father Faces Charges in Teen’s Death After Body Discovered at Dump Site

Minnesota police arrested a man on Monday, a week after his missing…

Man Receives Death Penalty for Murdering Teenager

Inset: Khyler Edman (Life Celebration Center). background: Ryan Cole during his trial…

Countdown to Diddy’s Hearing: Decision Time Approaching Soon

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, a once prominent figure in the rap industry, has…

Update: Georgia Teen Indicted for First-Degree Murder Nearly 5 Months After Mother and Stepfather’s Deaths

Police in Georgia have charged a 17-year-old girl with the February murders…

Video Captures Last Moments of California Teen with Ex-Boyfriend Before Tragic Disappearance and Murder

Police in California have made public a video that captures the last…

Famous Chef Reacts to Court Ruling on Mushrooms Linked to Killer’s Dish

Popular online cook and author Nagi Maehashi says she was upset to…

Mother Shares Events Leading Up to Son Allegedly Decapitating Father

Background: News footage of Denice Mohn (center, in blazer and glasses) leaving…