A New York judge ordered the former president to testify in a long-running state civil investigation into his business practices
FILE - Donald Trump, chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization, poses with his children, from left, Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, at the opening of the Trump SoHo New York on April 9, 2010. Trump must answer questions under oath in New York states civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.
Trump's own lawyers acknowledged during a court hearing Thursday that the former president faces risks by sitting down with attorneys heading up an investigation he long has derided as a “witch hunt.” Trump would not be afforded “a blanket assertion” of his Fifth Amendment right but be required to invoke it “individually for each question that's being asked,” said David S. Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor. “It's a very long and drawn-out process,” he said.But he seemed to relish such questioning on many other occasions throughout his career as a real estate developer, sitting for hours of depositions as part of lawsuits over contracts, defamation and other legal disputes.
Under questioning, he has defended his businessman’s instinct of giving the public the rosiest, most optimistic outlook possible.“You always want to put the best possible spin on a property that you can,” Trump said in a 2007 deposition involving a lawsuit in which he’d accused a journalist of understating his wealth. “No different than any other real estate developer, no different than any other businessman, no different than any politician.