Donald Trump and his children have been ordered to give depositions in a New York probe of the Trump Organization.
The First Department Appellate Division upheld a state court decision ordering the Trumps to comply with subpoenas.
A panel of judges found that the 3 Trumps were allowed to testify in the investigation.
James said in a press statement that the courts have ruled again that Donald Trump must comply with the law.
James has been investigating financial fraud at the Trumps for three years. The 3 Trumps testified in January.
Trump lawyers argued that their testimony could be used against them in parallel criminal probes by the AG and the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
The Trump lawyers have argued that James was biased against the former president, as evidenced by her numerous press statements in which she vowed to take down his business.
The appellate panel found that the civil probe waslawfully initiated.
The civil investigation began in March after testimony before Congress by Michael Cohen, former Trump Organization senior executive and special counsel, in which he alleged that The Trump Organization, Inc. had issued fraudulent financial statements.
The sequence of events suggests that the investigation was started well and that there was no parallel criminal investigation undertaken by the District Attorney.
The appeals court shot down the Trumps' claims that James is conducting a politically motivated prosecution.
A claim ofselective prosecution requires a showing that the law has been administered with an evil eye and an unfair hand, according to the decision.
After public testimony of a senior corporate insider, James began his investigation, which included reviewing significant volumes of evidence before issuing the subpoenas.
Appellants have not identified any similarly implicated corporations that were not investigated or executives who were not deposed. Appellants have failed to demonstrate that they were treated differently.
A lawyer for the Trump family, Alan Futerfas, said he is still reviewing the appellate decision and has not made a decision on whether to file a further appeal.
Donald Trump is the sole beneficiary of the Trump Organization's profits and is being investigated by James.
James identified the witness as the former executive vice president of development and aquisitions of the Trump Organization, and the point person for negotiating financing from the Trump lender Deutshche Bank.
Donald Trump, Jr., is an executive vice president of the Trump Organization and his brother, Eric, has already been deposed by James.
Eric invoked his 5th amendment right more than 500 times when he sat for a James deposition in October of 2020.
The three are being compelled to testify in a civil probe, which could result in a lawsuit by the AG for any ill-gotten gains and possibly the dissolution of the business.
Several ancillary legal matters are still ongoing, though lawyers for James office have characterized her probe as winding down.
Donald Trump has sued James in hopes of shutting the probe down, and he is appealing an order by the court that he be held in contempt for failing to comply with a separate James subpoena.
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