(NEW YORK) — New York’s highest court declined to take up an appeal by former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children, a decision that obligates the Trumps to sit for depositions next month in the ongoing civil investigation into how they valued their real estate holdings.
The New York Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
Former President Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump have now exhausted their appeals and must sit for depositions beginning July 15, according to a previous stipulation filed in the case.
The New York Attorney General’s Office has been investigating potential discrepancies in how the Trump Organization valued certain assets when seeking loans or when pursuing tax breaks.
Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in the yearslong investigation.
A state appellate court ruled in May that the subpoenas for their testimony were not, as the Trumps argued, part of a politically motivated investigation into how the family valued its real estate holdings.
The New York Court of Appeals had given the Trumps until Monday to submit an appeal, shooting it down one day later — on Donald Trump’s 76th birthday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has argued her office has found “significant evidence” of fraud in the investigation into how Trump and the Trump Organization valued real estate holdings in the state. The investigation has reviewed whether the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading valuations of its holdings in different ways to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.
Among the real estate holdings being investigated are 40 Wall Street, in Manhattan’s Financial District; Seven Springs, Trump’s estate in Westchester; Trump Park Avenue; and even Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower.
A parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has already led to charges of tax fraud against Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, and the company itself.
They have both pleaded not guilty. A trial is expected to take place in the fall.
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