Judge Rejects Eric Trump’s Request To Delay Interview About Trump Finances Until After Election

Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s 36-year-old son, is expected to testify under oath by October 7 in an investigation into the family’s real estate business. A federal judge rejected Eric Trump’s request to delay the interview until after the election cycle and sided with New York Attorney General, Letitia James.

In March 2019, James and her team opened an investigation into whether the Trump Organization inflates the value of its assets in an attempt to receive more favorable loans and tax benefits. For example, the Trump Organization provided financial statements listing Seven Springs, their 212-acre estate that President Trump bought back in 1995, as being worth $291 million in 2012. However, James’ office said a professional evaluation at the time determined that the estate was only worth $56.5 million.

Since President Trump has been in office, Eric Trump has taken over the day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization, giving James reason to call him in to answer questions under oath.  After already abruptly cancelling an interview with investigators in July, Eric Trump and his lawyers asked to delay the interview a second time, despite a subpoena ordering Trump’s presence in court.

Trump and his team requested that the interview be rescheduled to after election, with November 19 being the earliest of four dates his lawyers proposed. Trump justified his request by stating that he did not want the probe to impinge on his travel schedule before the 2020 election and did not want this to be used for harmful political purposes. He argued that James’ push for him to testify is motivated by her political vendetta that he refused to feed into.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has rejected this request and ordered Trump to undergo deposition no later than October 7. During the hearing, Engoron identified Trump’s arguments as being “unpersuasive,” stating that the legal system is not “bound by timelines of the national election.”

The is just one of multiple legal battles the Trump Organization is currently facing. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office is fighting to dislodge Trump’s financial records, including his tax returns, as part of an investigation into banking and insurance fraud that is tied to the Trump Organization.