Letitia James wants to interview Donald Trump.
James, the New York Attorney General, is seeking a deposition from the former president on January 7th as part of her inquiry into the financial dealings of the Trump Organization, according to The Washington Post.
“The deposition marks an escalation in the probe of the former president’s company” adds the outlet.
James is particularly interested in how Trump’s company values its properties. It’s been suspected that the Trump Organization under-represents values to government entities in order to deflate their tax burden but over-represents values to lenders in order to get favorable loans.
The Post explains:
Prosecutors appear to have dug deeply into these properties, according to court papers and people familiar with the investigation. They have compiled reams of emails, planning documents and financial data, even seeking the initiation fees Trump charged golf club members as far back as a decade ago. In Los Angeles, they have asked for geology reports on the rock layers under Trump’s course, where the value was affected by a history of landslides.
In November, Manhattan prosecutors convened a grand jury to determine if such dealings represent fraud. An earlier grand jury returned indictments against the Trump Organization and its longtime Chief Financial Officer for a tax dodging scheme involving off-the-books employee compensation.
If Trump resists James’ request for a deposition, the attorney general can sue him. Last year, she forced Eric Trump to provide testimony.
In October, the former president was forced to sit for a 4.5 hour interview with lawyers representing a group of people that were allegedly assaulted by Trump’s bodyguards.
On Thursday, James announced that she was dropping out of the New York governor’s race.
