New York Attorney General Letitia James, who conducted a political investigation into former President Donald Trump’s company, is announcing a major lawsuit by former President Donald Trump, three of his grown children and his company over widespread fraud claims. James’ announcement comes nearly a week after The New York Times reported that she had rejected an offer from Trump’s lawyers to settle her investigation of the Trump Organization, which is based in Manhattan. James’ office was investigating the company for possibly fraudulently misrepresenting the value of various assets in order to receive financial benefits in the form of cheaper loan and insurance rates, as well as tax breaks. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and accused James, who is a Democrat, of being politically motivated to investigate the former Republican president. In August, Trump appeared for a deposition from James’ lawyers. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 440 times by refusing to answer questions under oath. Donald Trump Jr., who runs the Trump Organization with his brother Eric, answered questions from investigators under oath earlier in August, as did their sister Ivanka Trump. Ivanka was previously an executive at the Trump Organization. Eric Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 500 times when he was questioned under oath in the investigation in October 2020, a court heard in January. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
