Former President Donald Trump will have to testify under oath as part of the investigation into his businesses after a New York appeals court rejected his appeal Thursday.
A four-judge panel upheld Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling from February, which enforced subpoenas for the former president as well as Donald Jr. and Ivanka, according to The Associated Press. All three will now have to give deposition testimony in the investigation headed by Democratic New York State Attorney General Letitia James, the outlet continued.
“The existence of a criminal investigation does not preclude civil discovery of related facts, at which a party may exercise the privilege against self-incrimination,” the four-judge panel wrote, AP reported. President Trump was held in contempt in April for failing to comply with the subpoena.
James has claimed that her investigation uncovered evidence of “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of Trump assets, such as golf courses and buildings, in order to get loans and tax benefits, AP reported. James has previously tweeted about such discoveries. (RELATED: Trump Sues NY AG Letitia James Over Inquiry Into His Business)
We are taking legal action to force Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump to comply with our investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial dealings.
No one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 19, 2022
“We have uncovered significant evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent and misleading asset valuations on multiple properties to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions for years,” James wrote in a tweet.
The Trump family can continue to appeal the ruling with the state’s Court of Appeals, AP noted. Their previous appeal argued that ordering the Trump family to testify would violate their constitutional rights, as their answers could be used in a different criminal investigation, AP reported.