Former U.S. President Donald Trump has spent eight hours in a deposition at the New York Attorney General’s (AG) office in relation to the $250 million lawsuit against him. The lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, alleges fraud in Trump’s former real estate business practices. James filed the lawsuit in September 2022 against Trump, his three oldest children, and the Trump Organization. She alleges over 200 instances of fraud spanning 10 years and claims that Trump inflated his personal net worth to attract favorable loan agreements. James is seeking about $250 million in penalties, and a permanent bar on the Trump family from serving as officers of New York-based companies. James also seeks to prevent Trump and his company from entering into commercial real estate acquisitions in the state for five years.
Trump arrived at the Lower Manhattan office just after 9:30 a.m. ET, and his vehicle departed shortly after 6 p.m. The Attorney General’s spokesperson has confirmed that James was present for part of the time, and it is unclear what questions Trump was asked. The trial is set for October 2023.
After the deposition, Trump made a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling the deposition “another unjust & ridiculous persecution of The 45th President of the United States.” Trump also posted about the various investigations of him, calling them “election interference”. Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said in a statement that Trump was “not only willing but also eager to testify” before the Attorney General. Habba said that Trump remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the Attorney General about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company. Habba did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the deposition on Thursday night.
Trump sat for a deposition at the Attorney General’s office in August 2022 and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times. Separately, Trump pleaded not guilty last week to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his role in hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The former president is facing multiple legal battles that could impact his political future.