Trump Family Runs Out Of Road In Bid To Block Testimony To NYAG

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(Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

How many times will the Trump family plead the Fifth when they go under oath next month before New York Attorney General Letitia James?

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Five hundred? One thousand? Do I hear two thousand?

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Yesterday the state’s Court of Appeals rejected an eleventh-hour plea by the former president, Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump to avoid testifying in the AG’s long-running investigation of the Trump Organization. Which means that the family has run out of road in their effort to avoid going under oath.

The ruling is hardly a surprise to anyone paying attention to the case. At a totally wacko hearing back in February, Trump’s many lawyers tried to persuade Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to block the AG’s investigation.

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Alan Futerfas argued that the existence of a criminal investigation by the District Attorney made it illegal for the AG to issue a subpoena, characterizing it as an end-run around the blanket immunity which would confer if the family were forced to testify before a grand jury.

Alina Habba argued that the investigation was tainted by bias, and the court should actually be investigating Tish James and Hillary Clinton.

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And Ron Fischetti, the old bull, shouted angrily that “My client can’t take the Fifth Amendment. It’ll be all over the papers!” insisting that he didn’t care whether Eric Trump took the Fifth 500 times, because “My client is not Eric Trump! My client is Donald Trump!”

“He’ll want to testify,” he yelled from his video conference square, as if his inability to control his client were the court’s problem.

In the event, Justice Engoron was unconvinced, ordering the respondents to turn over the contested documents within 14 days and sit for deposition within three weeks.

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The reception at the First Department Appellate Division was no less chilly, with the court tossing the Trumps’ appeal within two weeks.

“You’re asking us to eliminate dozens of years of precedent or act as legislators,” Presiding Justice Rolando Acosta retorted when Futerfas restated his bizarre argument. “It’s not like you are unaware of your criminal jeopardy, in which case you can invoke your privilege against self incrimination. That’s the remedy that you have.”

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When the appellate court rejected their claim, the Trumps made one more Hail Mary pass to the state’s highest court. But they also signed a stipulation agreeing to go under oath the week of July 15 if their appeal was rejected. Which means that Don Jr. is probably standing in front of a mirror right now, doing his best Taxi Driver imitation, and shouting, “You talkin’ to me? I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me. So I don’t know who you’re talkin’ to.”

There’s always the off chance that the Second Circuit will take up the Trumps’ appeal of US District Brenda Sannes refusal to seize jurisdiction from the state court and make that mean lady stop investigating Daddy. Or Manhattan might be attacked by a flock of flying pigs … you never know.

Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

Topics

Alan Futerfas, Alina Habba, Arthur Engoron, Brenda Sannes, Courts, Donald Trump, Government, Letitia James, Rolando Acosta, Ron Fischetti