Donald Trump was questioned in New York about his business practices. According to TV pictures, the former US President came with a motorcade to the office of Attorney General Letitia James in Manhattan on Thursday. About eight hours later, the column left again. Some opponents and supporters of the 76-year-old had gathered in front of the Attorney General’s office. Trump was in New York last week following criminal charges in connection with paying hush money to a porn star.
In the business practices case, New York Attorney General Letitia had filed civil charges against James Trump. She accuses him, the family holding company Trump Organization and his three children Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka of having made assets larger or smaller as needed, for example to get easier access to loans or to pay less taxes.
With the case, scheduled to go to court in October, James wants the Trumps to pay $250 million in redress. The family holding company rejects the allegations. In a previous questioning under oath last year, Trump refused to testify hundreds of times for hours – except for his name.
According to media reports, Trump is said to have made statements this time. “President Trump is not only willing, but eager to testify before the Attorney General today,” said one of his attorneys, Alina Habba. “He goes on to stress that there is nothing to hide and looks forward to telling the Attorney General about the tremendous success of his multi-billion dollar venture.” The results of the survey were not initially known, and it is also unclear what the focus was.
The mood in the US regarding the legal prosecution of Trump is heated. He is being investigated for a number of possible crimes. Trump himself dismisses all cases as politically motivated actions. He wants to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
Last week, Trump became the first former US President to be criminally indicted. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused him of trying to increase his chances in the 2016 presidential election by paying hush money to two women, thereby violating election laws. He tried to disguise the payments with false entries in business documents.