Donald Trump

Trump's Deposition Is Sought in New York Attorney General's Civil Probe of Possible Tax Fraud

Brendan McDermid | Reuters
  • New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked for a deposition on Jan. 7 of former President Trump as part of a civil probe into possible fraud by the Trump Organization.
  • James' office is investigating whether Trump's business committed fraud in reporting the valuations of its properties to banks and tax authorities, NBC reported.
  • The AG is working with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. on a separate criminal fraud probe of the Trump Organization, which has already produced charges against its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked for a deposition of former President Trump next month as part of a civil probe into possible fraud by the Trump Organization, a source told NBC News on Thursday.

James' office is investigating whether Trump's business committed fraud in reporting the valuations of its properties to banks and tax authorities, NBC reported.

The attorney general wants the deposition to take place on Jan. 7 in New York, the source told NBC.

James' office is working with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. on a separate criminal fraud investigation of the Trump Organization.

That probe has already produced charges against the Trump Organization, its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, and the Trump Payroll Corporation. A July 1 indictment against them alleged a yearslong scheme to help Weisselberg and other executives at the companies avoid taxes on their compensation.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally in Perry, Georgia, U.S. September 25, 2021.
Dustin Chambers | Reuters
Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally in Perry, Georgia, U.S. September 25, 2021.

The Washington Post, which first revealed the plans to take a deposition of Trump, reported a person familiar with the investigation saying James is looking to see if widespread fraud "permeated the Trump Organization."

A spokesman for James' office declined CNBC's request for comment on the Post's reporting. A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ronald Fischetti, the lawyer representing Trump in the New York investigations, in a statement reacting to the deposition plans slammed James' probe as "purely political" and a "witch hunt."

"We will wait until we see what they show us in their subpoena and we will respond with our motions," Fischetti said. "This is purely political and he has done nothing wrong and we are not surprised at all."

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