Trump testifies under oath in New York lawsuit: 'Largest witch hunt in history'

Created: 08/10/2022, 16:55

By: Moritz Serif

Donald Trump scolds the ongoing fraud investigation.

Now the former US President has to testify under oath.

NEW YORK -- Just ahead of his planned testimony under oath, former US President Donald Trump has described the fraud case against his family holding company, the Trump Organization, as "the largest witch hunt in US history."

He was "attacked from all sides - banana republic," Trump wrote on his online network on Wednesday.

The former president was due to testify under oath in New York later today.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating suspicions that the Trump Organization artificially inflated the value of real estate in order to obtain loans from banks as part of a civil investigation.

In other cases, the real estate values ​​are said to have been reduced in order to have to pay less taxes or insurance premiums.

Donald Trump: A big scandal - as a series in pictures

View photo gallery

Donald Junior and Ivanka Trump are also required to testify under oath

In January, James said he had collected evidence of fraudulent financial practices.

In February, a judge ordered Donald Trump and his eldest children, Donald Junior and Ivanka Trump, to testify under oath.

The date originally scheduled for July 15 had been postponed due to the death of Trump's first wife Ivana.

Donald Trump with his fist raised as he walks into the Attorney General's office.

© Julia Nikhinson/AP/dpa/picture alliance

The former president had repeatedly criticized the investigation as politically motivated.

Attorney General James is a member of President Joe Biden's Democratic Party, to whom Trump lost the 2020 presidential election - and whose victory he still does not recognize to this day.

Attorney General James can sue the Trump Organization for damages upon presentation of evidence, but cannot file criminal charges.

In parallel with this civil investigation, the Manhattan Attorney's Office is conducting a criminal investigation into Trump Corporation's business conduct.

In July 2021, charges were brought against the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, for tax fraud.

also read

Drone images from Lake Garda show: Popular beaches for Bavarian vacationers are without water

Corona rules: Italy, Spain, Austria and other holiday countries are planning this for autumn

FBI raid Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

The process is scheduled to begin in 2022.

Trump is currently under pressure for several reasons: Only on Monday evening did the US federal police FBI search Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach with numerous officers.

The federal police declined to give a reason for the search.

According to media reports, the search could be related to documents Trump took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency ended in January 2021, although by law he should have turned over all documents to the National Archives.

(mse/afp)