LIEB BLOG

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Showing posts with label ag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ag. Show all posts

Thursday, December 09, 2021

Is there a Connection Between the Back-to-Back News of NYS AG Letitia James Subpoenaing Trump for a Deposition and Her Decision to Stay as AG Instead of Campaigning for Governor?

News dropped on 2 different fronts within the hour about NYS AG Letitia James. 

First, we learned that the AG plans to subpoena Trump for a deposition early next year to question him about whether the Trump Organization manipulated its real estate valuation, as part of NYS' civil fraud investigation.

Then, we learned that the AG would rather stay AG rather than run for Governor.

Are those 2 news events connected?

It sure seems like a strong possibility. 

To get there, you need to understand that attorneys generally have all the evidence that they need before conducting a deposition. The point of a deposition, questioning a witness under oath, is to lock the witness' testimony so that the witness cannot later take an alternative position at trial. We are often misled to believe that a deposition is about uncovering evidence, but that is rarely the point of a deposition. Instead, it is about boxing a witness in so that a trial attorney can direct a show for a jury while pulling the witness' puppet strings to perform just the way that the attorney wants. As a result, no matter how a witness testifies at a deposition, it works for the attorney. If a witness plays dumb at a deposition, and they claim not to remember / recall anything, it is not bad for the deposing attorney's case, it just makes that witness that much easier to manipulate at trial.

Now, to connecting the dots. Why would AG Letitia James suspend her campaign for Governor and announce she wants to stay the NYS AG within the same hour? Perhaps, because she has evidence that will put the former President dead to rights.