(NewsGlobal.com)- Former President Donald Trump isn’t taking New York’s politically-motivated probe into his business practices lying down, appealing a New York judge’s order that demands he and two of his children – Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump – testify as part of the ongoing investigation.
Attorneys representing the former president and his two children filed papers from a state appellate court following New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling that they must testify before the court. The ruling, which was made on February 17, gave the Trumps 21 days to appear before the court – but the appeal filed by Trump attorneys means that the testimony, should it ever happen, could be delayed for several months.
Trump’s attorneys argue that ordering the former president and his children to testify violates their constitutional rights as anything he says during a civil deposition could later be used against him in a criminal probe filed by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. In other words, one lawsuit complicates another – proving that left-wing politicians, bureaucrats, and activists made a fatal mistake in filing such a large number of (arguably frivolous) suits against the former president after he left office.
Trump attorneys say that having the former president attend a civil deposition would be an improper effort to avoid a state law that blocks prosecutors from calling for someone to testify before a criminal grand jury without granting them immunity.
In the summer of last year, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Trump associate Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization with tax fraud, claiming that Weisselberg took $1.7 million in compensation that was not reported to the IRS.
The future of the probe remains uncertain, however, after two prosecutors leading the probe resigned in February.
