Trump to return to New York City for deposition in state fraud lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to sit for a deposition Thursday in the Lower Manhattan offices of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office sued him and others in September, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The deposition will mark Trump’s first return to New York since April 4, when he was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in a Manhattan criminal case related to hush money payments made before the 2016 election.

News of the scheduled deposition was first reported by the New York Post.

In the New York Attorney General’s civil case, Trump, three of his children, and the Trump Organization are accused of orchestrating an extensive fraudulent scheme. James’ suit is seeking $250 million and a raft of sanctions that would effectively cease the company’s operations in New York. The Trumps and the company have vehemently denied wrongdoing.

Trump previously appeared for a deposition in connection with the case last August, before the suit was filed. During the deposition he invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times. 

Portions of that videotaped deposition were obtained by CBS News via a freedom of information request in January, showing him repeatedly responding “same answer” to every question after he first invoked the Fifth.

An attorney for Trump did not say if he will again invoke the Fifth during Thursday’s deposition. A spokesperson for James’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

The civil case is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 2. The state court judge in that case, Arthur Engoron, has rejected repeated attempts by Trump attorneys to push that date back.

The lawsuit is proceeding as Trump is facing mounting legal issues on different fronts.

Trump entered a not guilty plea in his Manhattan criminal case, which revolves around alleged attempts to hide reimbursements to his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump years earlier. Trump denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels and has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong.

In Fulton County, Georgia, the district attorney is considering charges in connection with an investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election results in the state after his defeat in 2020.

Trump is also under scrutiny in Washington, D.C., where a special counsel is reviewing his handling of sensitive government documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home, and possible obstruction of government efforts to retrieve them, and, separately, efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in connection with all of the investigations.