New York attorney general seeking to question Trump under oath in fraud investigation

New York's attorney general is seeking to question former US President Donald Trump under oath as part of a civil investigation into alleged fraud within the Trump Organization, according to media reports.

The New York Times reported on Thursday, quoting two people with knowledge of the matter, that Attorney General Letitia James’s office is also participating in the criminal investigation in the Trump organization.

The attorney is seeking a deposition, which is a witness's sworn out-of-court testimony, from Trump on January 7 as part of her separate civil inquiry into his business practices.

The Washington Post, citing sources close to the investigation, also reported on Thursday that James will ask to interview Trump and take his testimony at her office.

James and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are conducting a separate joint criminal probe into whether the former president lowered property values on his forms for tax agents but raised them to look better for financial lenders.

The prosecution team is particularly examining a property in Manhattan located at 40 Wall Street in New York City. Trump allegedly told lenders in 2012 the building was worth $527 million, but informed tax officials it was actually worth around $16 million. Prosecutors are also looking at inflated valuations at a California golf club and an estate in New York.

The joint criminal investigation is separate from James's civil investigation into potential financial fraud at Trump's businesses.  

Trump's company, the Trump Organization, is under pressure to comply with the New York state civil probe into the firm’s financial dealings.

The Trump Organization and the New York state attorney have been clashing over her office’s requests for documents and depositions.

“For more than a year now, the Trump Organization has failed to adequately respond to our subpoenas, hiding behind procedural delays and excuses," James said in a statement in September.

"Once again, the court has ordered that the Trump Organization must turn over the information and documents we are seeking, otherwise face an independent third-party that will ensure that takes place,” she added. 

Trump lambasts NY criminal probe as part of ‘greatest witch hunt’ in US history

Former US President Trump has harshly criticized the criminal probe into the Trump Organization, describing as a "continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History."

The investigation into the Trump Organization was launched after congressional testimony by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who turned on his former boss since pleading guilty in 2018 to various fraud and campaign finance charges.

Trump, however, has slammed the state and local prosecutors in New York over their bid to launch a criminal probe into his company, describing it as a "continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History."

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