Trump spends seven-hour New York deposition boasting about his ‘extraordinary business success’

The lawsuit was brought against former president last year by New York attorney general Letitia James

Graeme Massie

Los Angeles

Friday 14 April 2023 05:05 BST

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Donald Trump spent seven hours being deposed in a civil case on Thursday and used his time in the New York attorney general’s office to boast about his “extraordinary business success”, his lawyer says.

The lawsuit was brought last year by New York attorney general Letitia James, a Democrat, who claims the Trump family and Trump Organization gave lenders false financial statements overvaluing assets over a decade of deals.

“President Trump spent nearly seven hours today describing in detail his extraordinary business success,” said Mr Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise in a statement.

“The transactions at the center of this case were wildly profitable for the banks and for the Trump entities. When the facts of this success, and not politically engineered soundbites, are out in the open, everyone will scoff at the notion any fraud took place.

“This is an American success story. Last I checked, capitalism is still legal in America.“

The state is seeking $250m and a ban on the family running a business in the state. The Trumps have denied any wrongdoing and the case is set to go to trial in November.

Ms James was present during parts of the deposition, a source told CNN.

“[Mr Trump] remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the attorney general about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company,” his attorney Alina Habba said in a statement.

It was Mr Trump’s first time back in New York since he was arrested and pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments made in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

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