An appellate court ruled Thursday that Donald Trump and his kids Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. must all provide sworn testimony in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ probe of the Trump Organization.
The family trio lost their appeal of a lower court judge’s ruling ordering them to comply with the AG’s subpoenas for their depositions as she investigates the company’s business dealings.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the family was being unfairly targeted by James’ office for selective prosecution.
The attorneys noted that the AG could use the testimony to help a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, rather than calling the trio before a grand jury — which could give them immunity from a civil claim involving the same facts.
But the Appellate Division, First Department rejected both arguments in the Thursday decision.
“The political campaign and other public statements made by [the Office of the Attorney General] about appellants do not support the claim that OAG initiated, or is using, the subpoenas in this civil investigation to obtain testimony solely for use in a criminal proceeding or in a manner that would otherwise improperly undermine appellants’ privilege against self-incrimination,” the decision reads.
And the fact that the AG launched the 2019 probe after Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony claiming that the former president “issued fraudulent financial statements … suggests that the investigation was lawfully initiated at its outset and well founded,” the ruling says.
“Once again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump must comply with our lawful investigation into his financial dealings,” James said in a statement. “We will continue to follow the facts of this case and ensure that no one can evade the law.”
Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Ivanka and Don Jr., told The Post, “We have received [the decision] and we are examining it and we are considering all of our options.”
Trump’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
