Donald J. Trump and two of his older children are due to be sworn in as part of the New York Attorney General’s civil investigation into their business practices, a U.S. court of appeals ruled on Thursday.
Mr Trump’s lawyers say the investigation by Attorney General Leticia James was politically motivated and that she should not be allowed to question him or his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. Lawyers also argue that the attorney general cannot force Mr. Trump to be questioned in her civil investigation, as he has also been the subject of a criminal investigation into some of the same business practices.
But the court found that Trump had not shown that he was treated differently from other investigative goals and argued that “the existence of a criminal investigation does not preclude civil disclosure of related facts.”
A lawyer for the Trump Organization, the former president’s family real estate company, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The unanimous decision of a panel of four judges from the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, First Division, upheld the lower court’s decision authorizing Ms. James to question Mr. Trump and his children.
But the decision will not automatically lead to an interview with Mr Trump. The Trump family’s lawyers can appeal the decision to New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. It is unclear whether this court will agree to hear the case.
Ms. James’ office is in the final stages of its investigation, which began more than three years ago and is focusing on whether Mr Trump has improperly inflated the value of his property and other assets. Last month, a law firm told her that Ms. James was preparing to file a lawsuit against Mr. Trump in the near future. This action is likely to be the case.
In a statement earlier this year, Ms. James’ office said the Trump Organization had been involved in “fraudulent or misleading” practices. But her lawyers added that they need to gather additional records and testimony before they can decide whether to file a lawsuit.
Since then, they have been working to obtain testimony and documents from Mr. Trump. Last month, a New York State judge who first allowed Ms. James to question Trump’s family convicted the former president of disrespect after his lawyers failed to explain to the court the search for documents related to the investigation. The disrespect order was revoked earlier this month.
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