Donald Trump takes the Fifth Amendment in business fraud case

Donald Trump invokes the Fifth Amendment during a deposition at the New York attorney general’s office over alleged fraud at his family business.

Donald Trump raises his fist on his way to the New York Attorney-General’s office. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump said he declined to answer questions from the New York attorney general’s office during his deposition in its civil-fraud investigation into the financial dealings of the former president and his company.

In a statement Wednesday, Mr Trump said he was following the advice of his counsel to assert his right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to not answer questions.

“When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice,” Mr Trump said.

He said the search of his Florida residence Monday by federal agents also affected his decision.

“I have absolutely no choice because the current Administration and many prosecutors in this Country have lost all moral and ethical bounds of decency,” Mr Trump said.

The federal agents’ search in Florida is related to White House documents and is separate from the state attorney general’s office’s probe.

New York Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition, a spokeswoman for her office said. The spokeswoman also confirmed that Mr Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

A lawyer for Mr Trump didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Since 2019, Ms James has been investigating whether Mr Trump and his company made false representations to banks, tax authorities and insurers for financial gain. Her office has said that it had collected significant evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.

Mr Trump and his company have denied wrongdoing. He has said Ms James, a Democrat, is motivated by politics.

The former president wrote about the deposition on his social-media platform, Truth Social, shortly after midnight Wednesday. His motorcade arrived at the attorney general’s lower Manhattan office shortly before 9 a.m. Around 3:40 p.m., Mr Trump posted on Truth Social that he was leaving the office, saying he had “a very professional meeting.”

In December, the attorney general’s office subpoenaed Mr Trump and two of his adult children to testify. The Trumps then asked a judge to block the subpoenas, arguing that the probe was improper and that Ms James would inappropriately share information she gained from the subpoenas with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is conducting a parallel criminal investigation.

Ms James asked the judge to force Mr Trump and two of his adult children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to testify under oath. The attorney general’s office said each of the three Trumps was directly involved in one or more transactions it was investigating. These transactions relate to properties including Seven Springs, an estate north of New York City; Mr Trump’s apartment in Trump Tower in New York City; and 40 Wall Street, an office building in lower Manhattan.

State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered the Trumps to testify. An appeals court upheld his decision.

The Wall Street Journal