NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Former President Donald Trump, his namesake son and his daughter Ivanka have agreed to answer questions under oath next month in the New York attorney general\u2019s civil investigation into his business practices, unless their lawyers persuade the state\u2019s highest court to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Manhattan judge signed off Wednesday on an agreement that calls for the Trumps to give depositions \u2014 a legal term for sworn, pretrial testimony out of court \u2014 starting July 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messages seeking comment were sent to the ex-president\u2019s attorneys. State Attorney General Letitia James\u2019 office declined to comment, as did the younger Trumps\u2019 attorney, Alan Futerfas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another Trump son, Eric Trump,\u00a0gave a deposition in 2020\u00a0but declined to answer some questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new agreement comes after a series of setbacks for Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to block James\u2019 3-year-long investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James has said the probe has uncovered evidence that Trump\u2019s company exaggerated the value of\u00a0assets such as skyscrapers, golf courses and even his Manhattan penthouse\u00a0to get loans, insurance and tax breaks for land donations. A lawyer for her office\u00a0told a judge last month that evidence could support legal action\u00a0against the former president, his company or both, though the attorney said no decision had been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has decried the investigation as part of a politically motivated \u201cwitch hunt\u201d against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A New York state\u00a0appeals court ruled May 26 that Trump had to undergo a deposition, upholding\u00a0a lower court\u2019s ruling that the attorney general had \u201cthe clear right\u201d\u00a0to question Trump and certain other principals in his company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, on May 27, a federal\u00a0judge dismissed a lawsuit that Trump had filed\u00a0to seek a court order stopping James from investigating him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suit claimed that James, a Democrat, targeted the Republican ex-president because of political animus and violated his free speech and due process rights. A lawyer for Trump said at the time that the dismissal would be appealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James, meanwhile, said Trump had lobbed \u201cbaseless legal challenges\u201d at her investigation and vowed it would continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wednesday\u2019s agreement acknowledges that the Trumps can appeal to New York\u2019s top court, called the Court of Appeals, to try to overturn the decision that requires their depositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former president had plenty of experience with such questioning during his business career, and he\u00a0gave a deposition just this past October\u00a0in a lawsuit filed by protesters who said his security team roughed them up during his first presidential campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James\u2019 office started investigating Trump in 2019, after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen told Congress that the businessperson-turned-politician had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James\u2019 office also has been involved in a parallel, but separate, investigation by the Manhattan district attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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