New York State Attorney General Letitia James has requested the testimony of master con man and lying demagogue Donald "Loser" Trump in her office's investigation of fraud in the corrupt Trump Organization. James wants the deposition on January 7 at her New York City office in furtherance of her civil investigation into allegations of financial fraud by Trump's company:
"Both the attorney general and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are scrutinizing whether Trump’s company broke the law by providing low values to property tax officers, while using high ones to garner tax breaks or impress lenders, as The Washington Post previously reported.
James has said she is considering filing a lawsuit over the matter, and Manhattan prosecutors have convened a new grand jury to consider potential criminal charges related to the company’s financial practices, according to the people familiar with the investigations." [snip]
In their inquiries, New York prosecutors are examining financial statements related to several of Trump’s properties, including his California golf club, for which he valued the same parcel of land at $900,000 and $25 million depending on the intended audience, and an estate in suburban New York, for which Trump’s valuations ranged from $56 million to $291 million. The valuations were all given in the five years before Trump won the presidency."
The Trump Organization's chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has already been charged with tax fraud as part of the investigation James' office is conducting with the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Weisselberg is not believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
If Trump refuses to be deposed, James could take him to court and force a deposition. The danger for Trump in giving a sworn deposition is that he lies constantly, something his lawyers fear would expose him to perjury charges (as they did in the Mueller investigation). Next move: Trump's lawyers.
