New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office will continue to pursue her civil investigation into Donald Trump his family’s financial dealings despite plans from the former president, his son Donald Jr and daughter Ivanka to appeal orders to testify in the case.
“While they have the right to seek a delay, they cannot deter us from following the facts and the law wherever they may lead,” she said in a statement on Friday. “Make no mistake: My office will continue to pursue this case without fear or favor because no one is above the law.”
The attorney general, who filed several lawsuits against the Trump administration while in office, has accused the Trump family and its New York-based Trump Organization of “fraudulent or misleading” practices, including repeatedly misrepresenting the value of assets, “to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”
A parallel criminal investigation from Manhattan’s district attorney is also probing the former president’s use of “statements of financial condition” in seeking bank loans and insurance policies.
The former president and his children have sought to quash subpoenas from the state’s attorney general for their sworn testimony, accusing Ms James of launching a political witch hunt, and have sued her office in federal court in an effort to end the investigation or recuse herself from it.
A written ruling from a New York judge dismissed their complaint, arguing earlier this month that it “completely misses the mark” and ignores Ms James’ office discovery of “copious evidence of possible financial fraud” that legitimizes her requests.
“She has the clear right to do so,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron wrote.
The Trumps must be deposed by 10 March.
This week, Trump attorney Ron Fischetti told Business Insider said “they are not going to testify” by that date.
“I don’t think anybody thought that they were going to testify by that date,” he said.
The Trumps’ notice of appeal and request for a stay of Judge Engoron’s order will be filed with the state’s appellate division early next week, according to the outlet. The filings and the actual appeals could delay the case by months.
Mr Trump’s second-oldest son, Eric, gave evidence in a sworn deposition in September 2020, during which he reportedly declined to answer questions more than 500 times to avoid potentially incriminating himself.
The Trumps’ announcement of plans to delay the New York case follows the abrupt resignation of two prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, a potential blow to the long-running criminal probe after a monthlong pause in which investigates stopped presenting evidence to a grand jury.
That office indicted the company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, on criminal tax fraud charges last summer. They are accused of conspiring to pay senior executives significant off-book fringe benefits.
