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Former president Donald Trump invokes his Fifth Amendment rights and declines to speak with New York prosecutors, including State Attorney General Letitia James, over his hotel and real estate ventures.
Invoking his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, former president Donald Trump declined to respond to inquiries from the New York attorney general's office regarding his business activities during a deposition on Wednesday.
The former president's companies are the subject of a continuing investigation by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York. In a statement, Trump criticized James for what he termed a "despicable attempt" to undermine his business and said he "declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges provided to every citizen under the United States Constitution."
Donald Trump Declines To Answer NY Attorney General Questions
The Trump Organization is the subject of a civil investigation by James' office investigating "fraudulent or misleading" business activities, including issuing willfully false asset values to the company's advantage. Per Yahoo News, it had been rumored that Trump would use his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid revealing his net worth, which detractors claim he has been exaggerating for years.
According to reports, the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida on Monday in an effort to find presidential documents that could include sensitive material. Trump said the raid "wiped out any uncertainty" about whether or not to comply, NY Post reported.
Just before 9 a.m., the former commander-in-chief arrived in one of many black SUVs that were escorting him to a parking garage within the lower Manhattan building where one of James' offices is situated. In a lengthy statement following the event, Trump claimed that James "openly campaigned on the strategy of 'Get and Destroy Trump'."
Following news on Tuesday that Trump will be questioned as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization, he took the deposition. The 76-year-old Floridian acknowledged the encounter in a social media post while complaining that James is a "racist" and that the investigation is a "witch hunt."
Donald Trump's Children Recently Testified in AG James' Probe
The son of the former president and a representative of the Trump Organization, Eric Trump, supported him on Truth Social. The deposition comes after years of delays, lawsuits, and appeals in relation to the probe, which was started in 2019 based on Michael Cohen's sworn congressional testimony.
After Ivana Trump passed away in July, James recently postponed depositions for Trump and his adult children. Since then, Ivanka and Donald Jr. have been laid off. Along with the numerous legal issues the former president is facing, Manhattan prosecutors are now looking into the financial operations of the Trump Organization.
The former president exited Trump Tower in Midtown and made his way to the NY Attorney General's office on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan. As Trump's SUV pulled into a garage, there were Secret Service personnel and NYPD cops waiting outside.
Recently, Donald Jr. and Ivanka Trump testified in James' investigation without claiming the Fifth Amendment. According to court documents, their brother Eric Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times during his deposition in the lawsuit, providing a preview of his father's tactics.
James is looking into whether Trump and his kids broke the law by repeatedly inflating the worth of their properties to get loans, tax exemptions, and other advantages. The in question properties include the former president's Seven Spring Estate in Westchester County and golf courses in Scotland and Los Angeles. In a bank refinancing application, Trump stated that his 40 Wall St. tower, which is approximately a five-minute walk from the attorney general's office where he was deposed, is worth $735 million. James' office has stated that deal was only worth $257 million, though, as per NY Daily News.
Related Article: Trump Supporters Rage on FBI's Mar-a-Lago Raid, Point to Contrast Treatment to Hillary Clinton Years Earlier
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