Trump Loses Appeal, Must Testify in New York Civil Investigation

Facts

• A NY state appellate panel upheld Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron's Feb. 17 ruling enforcing subpoenas for former Pres. Trump and his two eldest children to give deposition testimony in AG Letitia James's civil probe.¹
• Trump fought the subpoenas, seeking to overturn the ruling on appeal. His lawyers argued that ordering him and his family to testify violated their constitutional rights because their answers could be used in a parallel criminal investigation.²
• The panel ruled that '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.'³
• In Apr,. Trump was held in contempt for failing to comply with the subpoena, leading to his appeal.⁴
• James claimed that her investigation has uncovered evidence of 'fraudulent or misleading' valuations of Trump's assets, such as golf courses and buildings, to get loans and tax benefits.⁴
• The panel's decision comes after the Manhattan district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and its longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, with criminal counts of tax fraud last summer, alleging he collected more than $1.7M in off-the-books compensation.⁵

Sources: ¹NPR Online News, ²PBS NewsHour, ³FOX News, ⁴Daily Caller and ⁵Independent.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Mother Jones. The walls are closing in on the former President, and though he and his lawyers have fought tooth and nail against this investigation, James continues to make progress. Trump may soon be held accountable for his shady business practices.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Daily Mail. The AG is letting her political biases get the best of her. James, a Democrat, is only pursuing the investigation out of political animus. Trump and his family have largely complied with the investigation and have handed over all the relevant documents they could.
• Narrative C, as provided by New York Times. Trump is in a tricky situation. He can still appeal to NY's Court of Appeals, although it's not clear whether that court would agree to hear the case. If Trump pleads the 5th amendment under questioning, it could hurt his case, given that it's a civil inquiry. On the other hand, if Trump does answer James' questions, he could possibly incriminate himself in other criminal cases.