Posted on 05/26/2022 9:04:10 AM PDT by lowbridge
Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.
A four-judge panel in the appellate division of the state’s trial court upheld Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 17 ruling enforcing subpoenas for Trump and his two eldest children to give deposition testimony in Attorney General Letitia James’ probe.
Trump had appealed, seeking to overturn the ruling. His lawyers argued that ordering the Trumps to testify violated their constitutional rights because their answers could be used in a parallel criminal investigation.
“The existence of a criminal investigation does not preclude civil discovery of related facts, at which a party may exercise the privilege against self-incrimination,” the four-judge panel wrote, citing the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Message seeking comment were left with lawyers for the Trumps and with James’ office. The Trumps could still appeal the ruling to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
James, a Democrat, has said her investigation has uncovered evidence Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits.
Thursday’s ruling could mean a tough decision for Trump about whether to answer questions, or stay silent, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Anything Trump says in a civil deposition could be used against him in the criminal probe being overseen by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
At a hearing prior to Engoron’s Feb. 17 ruling, Trump’s lawyers argued that having him sit for a civil deposition is an improper attempt to get around a state law barring prosecutors from calling someone to testify before a criminal grand jury without giving them immunity.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
They are going to hound him and his family till the end of days. Payback for threatening to expose their corruption
“at which a party may exercise the privilege against self-incrimination,”
all he has to do is plead the 5th and they got nothing but a waste of time.
Just give the Hillary answers. “I don’t recall”
Should have crossed the Rubicon in 2020.
They will continue to do everything they can to try and make Trump ineligible to run in 2024.
Zackly
Judge Arthur Engoron among others: ACLU, Jewish Lawyers Guild, and New York Women’s Bar Association.
That pretty much says it all about him.
... plead the 5th...
___________________
Chances they are forcing precisely that with which to make media hay.
Plead the fifth?
“I don’t recall”?
His name isn’t Clinton. It wont be that easy
They want him to plead the 5th.. then their media can say
“SEE!!! A GUILTY MAN WOULD NOT PLEAD THE 5TH!!”
and just like that, convicted in the court of public opinion.
Good advice. You can plead the 5th. But then they could give you immunity, and force you to testify. Best to avoid all that by simply “forgetting”. After all, Trump is getting on in years. Older people forget things.
Of course this means that Letitia James’ enthusiasm for justice will also result in an investigation Como’s finances as well as the rest of the Albany power brokers.
I thought this “misleading claims of property values for attaining loans” garbage had already been put to bed. Anyone could be charged with the same...isn’t that why banks do appraisals? It’s a matter of opinion unless a property is on the market and gets multiple bids...then sells - that is what it is worth. Everything outside of a sales process is nothing more than an estimate.
I wouldn’t plead the fifth. I would take the stand, take out a book and start reading. I would not even acknowledge the presence of a prosecutor.
The Democrats still fear the hell out of him. They know he’s still the biggest threat to them in 2024. When President Trump leaves this earth his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will continue to be harassed by the Deep State.
When Trump ran for president, I don’t think even he realized how many internal enemies this country has. Corruption is everywhere. It’s very discouraging.
Should have crossed the Rubicon in 2020.
—
Indeed, we’ve arrived at the time where we need a Sulla.
In a civil try they can’t give you immunity.
It is even crazier than that in that there are different values depending on the system of accounting used and any adjustments that apply. Thus book value, tax value, market value, depreciated value, and so on may legitimately yield different valuations.
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