NEW YORK — Donald Trump is scheduled to return to New York for a deposition Thursday in a enterprise fraud lawsuit filed in opposition to him and his firm by the state’s lawyer basic, in accordance with an individual conversant in the matter.
It would be the former president’s first journey to New York City since his arraignment final week on felony costs in a separate felony case involving hush-money funds made in the course of the 2016 marketing campaign to bury claims of extramarital sexual encounters that Trump says by no means occurred.
Trump is predicted to face questioning at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ workplace in decrease Manhattan, in accordance with the individual, who was not licensed to talk publicly concerning the matter and did so on situation of anonymity.
Trump beforehand sat for a deposition at James’ workplace final August, simply weeks earlier than she filed the lawsuit. That time, Trump declined to reply questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment safety in opposition to self-incrimination greater than 400 occasions.
Trump mentioned he did so as a result of he believed the investigation was a part of a “politically motivated Witch Hunt.”
Messages searching for remark have been left with Trump’s legal professionals and the state lawyer basic’s workplace. A Trump spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to questions Monday night about his plans.
James’ lawsuit alleges Trump and his firm, the Trump Organization, misled banks and others, partly by offering them with annual monetary statements that misstated the worth of prized belongings, together with golf programs and resorts bearing his title.
James, a Democrat, is searching for $250 million and a ban on Trump, a Republican, doing enterprise within the state.
The choose within the case, Arthur Engoron, stays dedicated to a Oct. 2 trial date, however agreed not too long ago to maneuver some pretrial deadlines to permit legal professionals extra time to evaluate proof, interview witnesses and file motions. Trump’s deposition is a part of that course of.
Engoron has scheduled a listening to for April 21 to resolve a dispute over the scheduling of a deposition for Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
“This case is complex, but it is not complicated. Essentially, it all boils down to whether (Trump’s) statements of financial interest are true or false,” Engoron mentioned at a March 21 listening to.
This week’s deposition and the continuing civil and felony instances aren’t the one authorized troubles Trump is going through in New York.
A federal choose on Monday issued an order asking if Trump plans to attend a trial this month in a civil lawsuit ensuing from columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims that he raped her in a division retailer dressing room within the Nineteen Nineties. The trial is scheduled to begin April 25 in Manhattan federal courtroom.
• Associated Press reporter Jill Colvin contributed.
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