Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr agree to testify in investigation into ex-president’s business practices | US News

Donald Trump and two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr have agreed to testify in a New York state civil investigation into the former US president’s business practices.

State Attorney General Letitia James is investigating whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and tax authorities.

The deal came more than six months after Ms James first issued subpoenas for their testimony, which Mr Trump, 75, and the children both in their 40s, fought bitterly in court.

Last month, an intermediate state appeals court denied the Trumps’ bid to avoid giving testimony.

The Trumps had argued that testifying in the civil probe would violate their constitutional rights because their words could be used in a related criminal investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Their testimony, starting on 15 July, could last through the following week, according to an agreement with Ms James made public on Wednesday.

The long-time chief financial officer of Trump’s family company, Allen Weisselberg, was charged with tax fraud in the Manhattan probe last year.

He has pleaded not guilty and is set to go on trial later this year.

Republican Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and called the investigation politically motivated as Ms James is a Democrat.

Last month, a federal judge in the state capital of Albany dismissed a separate lawsuit by Mr Trump seeking to halt the probe on the grounds that she was politically biased.

The judge found no evidence that she had acted in bad faith.

The Trumps have until 13 June to ask New York state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, to further delay any testimony in Ms James’s probe.