Eric Trump Agrees to Be Deposed, But Only After the Election
Eric Trump Agrees to Be Deposed, But Only After the Election
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s son Eric says he’s willing to be questioned under oath by New York authorities in a civil probe of the family business, but only after the Nov. 3 election.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been seeking sworn testimony from Eric Trump for months as part of a probe of asset valuations at the Trump Organization, where he’s an executive vice president. His lawyer said in a court filing Thursday that he’s too busy with the campaign to be deposed now.
“In good faith, counsel for Mr. Trump proposed multiple dates beginning shortly after the election -- just two weeks later on November 19 -- because of Mr. Trump’s extreme travel schedule and related unavailability between now and the election, and to avoid the use of his deposition attendance for political purposes,” the lawyers wrote.
James, a Democrat and vocal critic of the president, took legal action last month to enforce seven subpoenas seeking thousands of documents and testimony from multiple witnesses. She’s looking into whether Trump’s company falsely reported the value of his assets to secure loans and get tax benefits as claimed last year by the president’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who has fallen out with his ex-boss.
James signaled she’ll fight Eric Trump’s proposed timetable for the testimony.
“While we cannot comment on the particular steps we’re taking on specific litigation, we won’t allow any entity or individual to dictate how our investigation will proceed or allow anyone to evade a lawful subpoena,” James said in a statement. “No one is above the law, period.”
Lawyers for Trump and the family company argued in Thursday’s filing that James’s office has already obtained “voluminous” documents and sworn testimony from
current and former employees, as well as banks, accountants, insurers and professional consultants. The information James still seeks shouldn’t be turned over because it is privileged, the company said.
A hearing on New York’s request to enforce the subpoenas is set for Sept. 23.
Trump earlier backed out of a deposition with two day’s notice after complaining the civil probe was touching on possible criminal matters.
Trump further argued on Thursday that it is “well known” that most law enforcement agencies and regulators “studiously avoid certain actions within the 60-day period prior to a major election.”
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