Donald Trump Says Nothing in NY Fraud Lawsuit Deposition

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Video footage obtained by Insider shows Trump being fired during the NY AG’s investigation into his business. Trump repeatedly invoked the 5th Amendment and refused to answer questions. Trump previously questioned why an innocent person would plead on the 5th. Loading Something is loading.

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Former President Donald Trump repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment when he was impeached last summer as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into his business practices, according to footage obtained by Insider on Tuesday.

“This is the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country,” Trump began in his seven-minute opening remarks on August 10. “There has never been another president, or perhaps even another politician, who has been persecuted, harassed, and all in other ways, unfairly treated like President Donald J. Trump.”

“Anybody in my position who doesn’t take the Fifth Amendment would be an idiot, an absolute idiot,” he said.

“The Constitution of the United States exists for this purpose,” Trump said. “And I will use it to the fullest and defend myself against this malicious attack by this administration, by this attorney general’s office, and all other attacks on my family, business and our country. “

Trump ended his remarks by saying he “respectfully” declined to answer questions as he sat under oath.

“For all the other reasons given in my answer, which is included here in its entirety, I decline to answer the question,” the former president said as the questioning began, a phrase he repeated two more times before moving on to shorter response: “Same answer .”

Trump said the “same answer” over and over as he was pressed about the Trump Organization’s business dealings, asked about its top executives, and shown financial documents.

At times, Trump appeared tired during the deposition, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. He announced last year that he invoked the 5th Amendment in the investigation of James. The August statement was particularly notable given Trump’s earlier suggestion that only guilty persons invoke the constitutional right against self-incrimination.

“You see the mob is taking the Fifth,” he said in April 2018. “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”

Trump addressed his change of heart regarding the use of the 5th Amendment in his speech in August.

“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?'” he said. “Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and everyone in your orbit becomes the target of a baseless, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and Fake News Media, you have no choice.”

James’ investigation into the Trump Organization culminated in a major fraud lawsuit in September against the former president, his three eldest children, and his business.

James is seeking to permanently bar the Trumps from doing business in New York and seeking $250 million in penalties. The state attorney general’s office is also seeking the appointment of an independent monitor to “oversee compliance, financial reporting, assessments, and disclosures to lenders, insurers, and tax authorities at the Trump Organization” at least in five years.

James said Trump “falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to further enrich himself and cheat the system” and “repeatedly and consistently manipulated the value of assets to drive the banks to lend money to the Trump Organization.”

“Claiming to have money you don’t have is not the art of the deal,” James said, referring to the title of Trump’s 1987 memoir and business-advice book. “This is the art of stealing.”

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