(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump has been asked by New York investigators to answer questions under oath next month as part of the state’s civil probe into the financial practices of his sprawling real estate business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked the Trump Organization to make Trump available for the deposition on Jan. 7, said the person, who asked to not be identified discussing the matter. 

James, a Democrat who is running for governor of New York, began the probe in 2019 to determine if Trump’s Manhattan-based company had been manipulating the value of key assets for tax and insurance purposes. Since then, the company has waged legal battles over compliance with state subpoenas. The request for Trump’s testimony could trigger a fresh court fight. 

A spokesman for Trump didn’t immediately respond to a message left for comment.

Eric Trump, the former president’s son and an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, was deposed by state investigators in October 2020 after fighting in court to delay the questioning.

In July, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., in cooperation with James, charged the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with an array crimes associated with untaxed benefits the executive had received, including the use of luxury cars and apartments. Weisselberg and the company have denied wrongdoing.

The Trump Organization has long argued the investigations are politically motivated. In May, Trump issued a statement accusing James and Vance of being “possessed, at an unprecedented level, with destroying the political fortunes of President Donald J. Trump.”

A major focus of James’s probe has been the Trump Organization’s appraisal of Seven Springs, a 212-acre estate in Westchester County, New York. Her office has been trying to determine whether the company gave an accurate valuation for the property when it served as the basis for about $21.1 million in tax deductions for donating a conservation easement for the 2015 tax year.

Trump’s 40 Wall Street skyscraper and his Chicago hotel are among the other properties being scrutinized in the attorney general’s probe, which overlapped with the Manhattan district attorney’s broad investigation of possible bank, mortgage and tax fraud.

The attorney general’s request to get Trump’s testimony was reported earlier by the Washington Post.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.