Former President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Wednesday during a statement to lawyers from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in their investigation into the business practices of the ‘Trump Organization.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why do you accept the Fifth Amendment?'” Trump said in a statement. “Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and everyone in your orbit has become the target of a baseless, politically motivated witch hunt backed by lawyers, prosecutors, and the fake news media , heu There is no option. Accordingly, under the advice of my attorney and for all of the foregoing reasons, I declined to answer the questions regarding the rights and privileges granted by the Constitution of the United States to all citizens.”
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office later confirmed that Trump had invoked the Fifth Amendment.
“While we will not comment on specific details, we can confirm that today, our office issued a statement from former President Donald Trump,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition during which Mr. Trump took part. he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”
Trump met with attorneys from the attorney general’s office for about six hours. On his social media platform, Trump later described it as “a very professional meeting.”
James’ office is considering whether to file a civil suit against Trump and his company and has said in court filings that it has “discovered substantial evidence establishing numerous misrepresentations” in Trump’s financial statements to banks, insurers and the IRS.
The financial statements were inflated by hundreds of millions of dollars and signed by the former president, James has alleged.
“Attorney General James will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Our investigation continues,” a spokeswoman for his office said Wednesday.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said the investigation of James, a Democrat, is politically motivated.
In an earlier statement on his social media platform, Trump said he was in New York City and would see the attorney general “for the continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of the United States! The my great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides. . Banana Republic!”
Trump’s two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, recently testified in the civil investigation. NBC News reported that Trump Jr. he was interviewed a couple of weeks ago and Ivanka spoke to investigators last week. Neither invoked Fifth Amendment protection. Sources did not confirm whether his testimony took place in person or virtually.
Earlier this week, Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm that appraised several Trump Organization properties, turned over nearly 36,000 documents to the attorney general.
Trump’s appearance at the attorney general’s office comes after the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, with a source familiar with the matter telling NBC News that it is looking was related to classified information that Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to his Palm Beach resort in January 2021.
Zoë Richards contributed.
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