Trump calls US 'Banana Republic' over New York civil probe
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Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be deposed by lawyers as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization's business practices.
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Trump to be deposed in New York civil probe
Former US President Donald Trump is expected to be deposed in New York on Wednesday as part of the state attorney general's civil investigation into alleged fraud at his family business, according to his social media network. Trump posted on his Truth Social just after midnight that he was in New York City that night, setting his schedule for the next day, including his questioning under oath in the civil probe.
"Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!" he said. "My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides. Banana Republic!"
The Trump Organization, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, fraudulently overstated the value of real estate properties when applying for bank loans while understating it with tax authorities in order to pay less in taxes.
Trump and his two eldest children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, were scheduled to begin testifying under oath in July, but the depositions were pushed back due to the death of the former President's first wife.
He denied any wrongdoing, and the former Republican Party chairman claimed that the investigation is politically motivated.
If James, an African-American Democrat, discovers evidence of financial misconduct, she can sue the Trump Organization for monetary damages but cannot file criminal charges because the investigation is civil.
Read next: Investigation into Trump found ‘significant evidence’ suggesting fraud
James' probe is one of several legal battles in which Trump is embroiled, threatening to complicate any bid for the presidency in 2024.
The deposition follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on Trump's Florida home, part of an escalation of legal investigations into the 45th president that has sparked a political firestorm.
The FBI declined to explain the reason for the raid, but US media outlets reported that agents were conducting a court-ordered search in connection with the potential mishandling of classified documents sent to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House in January 2021.
