The former U.S. President appeared in relation to a $250 million civil lawsuit
Former President Donald Trump was back in New York, this time, for questioning in a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against him by the state’s attorney general.
This is the same day a Washington, D.C., appeals court declined to shield Trump from a civil defamation lawsuit by a writer E. Jean Carroll, who said the former U.S. president raped her nearly three decades ago. Trump denies the allegation.
The questioning in the New York case took place behind closed doors, though a group of protesters gathered outside Attorney General Letitia James’ offices as Trump arrived for the deposition.
The lawsuit against Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, accuses him and others of a decade-long scheme to manipulate property values and his net worth to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits.
Thursday’s deposition could be used to try to discredit any testimony Trump may give at trial, or be offered as testimony if he is unavailable to appear.
The trial in the case is scheduled to begin October 2.
Trump was also questioned by James’ office in August, before the case was filed, when he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times.
Trump attacked James on his Truth Social platform early Thursday, and said he would prove he built a “great and prosperous” company.
In a separate criminal case in New York, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records earlier this month, charges tied to allegations that he orchestrated a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election.
He also faces federal investigations stemming from his handling of government documents after leaving the White House and alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, as well as a state-level probe in Georgia into whether he unlawfully sought to reverse the 2020 election results there.
