Trump Is Testifying Under Oath Today
Donald Trump will sit for questioning on Wednesday as part of the state of New York’s long-running probe into his company’s business practices.
The testimony is expected to last most of the day, if not longer, per The New York Times. It’s unclear whether the former president will answer questions or exercise his Fifth Amendment right.
Trump confirmed he would be testifying while railing against the investigation in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. “In New York City tonight. Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!” he wrote. “My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides. Banana Republic!”
The testimony comes two days after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, and a day after an appeals court ruled that the IRS must turn his tax returns over to the House Ways and Means Committee. The New York investigation into his business practices focuses on whether the Trump Organization fraudulently inflated the value of its assets in order to secure loans, while at the same time decreasing their value for tax purposes. New York Attorney General Letitia James has personally implicated Trump and members of his family in the alleged fraud.
Trump has long been attacking James as “racist,” presumably because she is a Black person investigation Trump and his white family. The probe is civil so cannot result in criminal charges, but it is playing out alongside a criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The two offices are collaborating, and so anything Trump says under oath on Wednesday could aide the DA’s investigation, which has been fraught.
James’ investigation is said to be in its closing stages, but Trump and his circle have plenty of other legal trouble. The Jan. 6 committee is continuing to scrutinize their potential role in the Capitol attack, as is the Justice Department. The DA’s office in Fulton County, Georgia, is also investigating Trump and his allies’ alleged effort to tamper with the state’s election results. Rudy Giuliani was ordered by a judge on Tuesday to find a way to get to Georgia to testify in that probe on Aug. 17.
Source: Read Full Article