Professor Bruce Green shared his expert opinion with The New York Times on New York’s attorney general’s civil inquiry into Donald Trump’s business practices.
The New York State attorney general, Letitia James, is seeking to question former President Donald J. Trump under oath in a civil fraud investigation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, an unusual move that comes at a critical juncture in a parallel criminal investigation into the former president.
Ms. James, whose office is also participating in the criminal investigation being run by the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., wants to question Mr. Trump on Jan. 7 as part of her separate civil inquiry into his business practices.
If Ms. James finds evidence of wrongdoing in the civil inquiry, she could file a lawsuit against Mr. Trump, but she could not file criminal charges.
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Bruce Green, who directs a center for legal ethics at Fordham University, said in an interview that it was typical for civil investigations to defer to criminal inquiries. Ms. James’s actions, he said, might suggest she wants to put her investigation on a firm footing in case the criminal inquiry does not result in charges.
“You don’t want to forgo doing the civil investigation on the theory that the prosecutors are going to indict, and then they don’t,” Mr. Green said.