WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – Donald Trump and two of his eldest children filed new paperwork on Monday, accusing a New York judge of misusing his authority in delivering the judgment, which requires the former president to answer questions under oath as part of an inquiry into his business activities.
Lawyers for the former President claimed in filed papers in a state appeals court that Manhattan judge Arthur Engoron failed to properly examine ethical and constitutional issues they had raised about the probe launched by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Attorneys representing Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., want the state’s appeal division to reject Engoron’s order and nullify James’s subpoenas for their testimony, which were issued on February 17th.
They rehashed previous claims that James, who is a Democrat, had a political vendetta against Trump, who is a Republican, and that pressuring the Trumps to testify would be violation of their constitutional rights because the answered could potentially be used against them in a parallel criminal investigation in a 72-page joint brief released on Monday.
Engoron wasn’t right to bound the scope of a two-hour hearing before his ruling, according to the Trumps’ lawyers, and he did not have all of the material needed to make a reasonable ruling.
Engoron refused the lawyers’ demands for hearings into the extent of coordination between the Manhattan district attorney’s office and James’ office, which is leading the criminal investigation, as well as if James was practicing selective prosecution, according to the lawyers.
In reaction to the Trumps’ court filing on Monday, James published a statement.
“A judge has ordered Donald J Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump to cooperate with the investigation into Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings,” James stated.
“Regardless of how powerful they are, no one can stop our pursuit of justice, no matter how persistent their attempts are. “Without fear or favor, we will continue to follow the facts.”
During the appeals process, the Trumps and the New York attorney general’s office have agreed to put the subpoenas on hold. The appellate court is expected to hear arguments in May or June, according to court documents.
James has stated that evidence has been discovered showing Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, used “fraudulent or misleading” assessments of assets such as golf courses and towers to obtain loans and tax benefits.
If Engoron’s finding is upheld, Trump may be forced to choose between answering questions and remaining silent, using his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination — something he has previously lambasted others for doing.
