Trump appears in New York for second deposition in fraud lawsuit

Former President Trump is in New York on Thursday for his second deposition in a fraud lawsuit spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

Trump is returning to New York after appearing last week in Manhattan for his arraignment on 34 felony counts from the local district attorney related to hush money paid to an adult film star shortly before the 2016 election. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.

In the separate lawsuit from James, the state attorney general alleges Trump, along with his three adult children and his business entities, manipulated property values to obtain investments and loan benefits over numerous years.

Trump previously appeared for his first deposition in the civil fraud case last August; he did not answer anything but procedural questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 400 times. It is unclear whether he will answer questions in his deposition on Thursday.

“President Trump is not only willing but also eager to testify before the Attorney General today,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. “He remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the Attorney General about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company.”

“The good thing about the A.G. Peekaboo James ‘persecution’ is that I will finally be able to show what a great, profitable, and valuable company I built, actually, some of the greatest real estate assets anywhere in the world,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday.

New York is seeking $250 million in financial penalties and asked the court to ban the former president and Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director in any corporation registered or licensed in New York. James also requested the court ban the former president and his business from acquiring real estate in New York or from applying for loans from any New York financial institution for five years.

Trump has decried James’s lawsuit against him as “another witch hunt” and has repeatedly claimed that there is no merit to this case, or any of the pending investigations looming over him. He said Thursday morning that he was on his way to the deposition, again arguing the case is “ridiculous.”

“This civil case is ridiculous, just like all of the other Election Interference cases being brought against me,” he said in a Truth Social post. “If I had a fair judge, this case would have never happened. MAGA!”