Former President Donald Trump and his two eldest children must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday.
Trump, Ivanka, and Donald Trump Jr. must comply with subpoenas issued in December by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The depositions will take place within 21 days, Judge Engoron said following a two-hour hearing with lawyers for the Trump family and James’ office.
The eight-page ruling will most likely be appealed, but if upheld as it stands it could leave the former president in a vulnerable position about whether to answer questions or stay silent, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — something he’s criticized others for doing in the past.
“THERE IS NO CASE!” Trump said, accusing James’ office of “doing everything within their corrupt discretion to interfere with my business relationships, and with the political process.”
Trump called the ruling “a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in history — and remember, I can’t get a fair hearing in New York because of the hatred of me by Judges and the judiciary. It is not possible.”
Judge Engoron said the thousands of pages of evidence he’s reviewed in the case shows there’s sufficient basis for continuing the investigation and undercuts “the notion that this ongoing investigation is based on personal animus, not facts and law.”
