'Extremely serious': Analyst on Fox Business expects NY's Trump lawsuit to 'bolster' criminal case
Civil rights attorney Brian Claypool told Fox Business that a lawsuit filed against members of the Trump family could "bolster" a criminal case.
New York Attorney Letitia James announced the lawsuit on Wednesday that seeks to recover $250 million that the Trump Organization allegedly illegally obtained through real estate fraud. The lawsuit also calls to ban former President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump from serving as an officer of a company in New York.
"Anytime you get sued for a couple hundred million dollars, if not more, for civil fraud -- you are risking being able to run a business in New York -- there's a lot at stake," Claypool told Fox Business host Neil Cavuto. "President Trump's legal team has to take this extremely serious because there's no criminal charges yet."
"What happens is, when you trigger a civil case, that opens up a lot of mechanisms to do discovery," the attorney pointed out. "A lot of subpoenas are going to get issued."
He added: "And more important, there's going to be depositions taken under oath and that could lead to potential evidence that might bolster any type of criminal investigation."
Watch the video below from Fox Business.