Former US president Donald Trump is expected to testify on Wednesday in a civil investigation by the New York attorney general on his family's business practices, as he deals with a flurry of other legal problems.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a probe into whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values. Trump and his adult children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, fought for months to testify.
Trump said in a post on his app Truth Social that he would see the New York attorney general on Wednesday. A source told Reuters that Trump is scheduled to testify in the probe on Wednesday. The children of Trump were already deposed, the source said.
The deposition will not be public.
A spokeswoman for James hasn't responded to requests for comment, and a lawyer for Trump didn't respond to requests for comment.
James said that her investigation found significant evidence that the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate, overstated asset values to obtain favorable loans and understated the values to get tax breaks.
Trump denied wrongdoing and called the New York investigation politically motivated. Seeking N.Y. S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in US history! My great company, and myself, is being attacked from all sides. Trump said late on Tuesday in a post on Truth Social.
It is not clear how much Trump will say during the long-anticipated deposition. He may refuse to answer questions on the grounds that he might incriminate himself, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The testimony could help determine where the probe goes. The FBI seized Trump's Florida estate on Monday, an escalation of the federal investigation into whether the former president illegally removed records from the White House as he left office in January 2021, according to a separate investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Trump has been flirting with the question of running again for president in 2024, but he hasn't said whether he will do so.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the warrant to search Trump's Florida estate relates to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is charged with safeguarding presidential records that belong to the public, and whether there were classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Several investigations have focused on Trump since he left office after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to overturn his election loss. The election was stolen through widespread voting fraud, according to Trump.
Trump is the Republican Party's most influential voice, and some observers think the FBI search could bolster his standing with Republican voters.