Trump Invokes Fifth Amendment in Deposition Wednesday Morning

by Sharon Rondeau

(Aug. 10, 2022) – 10:17 a.m. EDT – Minutes ago, Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington released on TruthSocial a three-page statement from 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump indicating he exercised his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions in a deposition Wednesday morning in New York City.

The deposition stemmed from a “fraud” investigation launched by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, which CBS reported Wednesday is “nearing its conclusion.”

Prior to the release of the statement, Trump posted video clips of James campaigning with the intent to “sue Trump” and investigate every aspect of his longstanding New York City-based real estate business.

James claims the Trump Organization, which Trump led until his election as president in 2016, documented “fraudulent or misleading asset valuations” to inflate the values “for some of its real-estate holdings, citing evidence discovered by her office,” as reported by The Intelligencer in January.

Since that time, two of Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka, have provided depositions in the case. According to Trump in his statement Wednesday, “millions” of pages of documentation have been provided to James’s office at her request.

“James now realizes I built a great company with tremendous value, and her case is a ‘Scam’, which is why for years, they haven’t been able to file a single charge,” Trump addressed the allegation.

His statement further reads: “We cannot permit a renegade and out-of-control prosecuted to use this investigation as a means of advancing her political career. New York deserves better, and this Country deserves better. This is a vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition, the likes of which our Country has never seen before. The United States Constitution exists for this very purpose, and I will utilize it to the post expense to defend myself against this malicious attack by the said ministration, this Attorney General’s Office, and all other attacks on my family, my business, and our Country.”

The statement references the “raid” which the FBI conducted Monday morning on his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, which Trump said “wiped out any uncertainty” about invoking his Fifth-Amendment right to remain silent.

“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,” he wrote. “If there was any question in my mind, the raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, on Monday by the FBI, just two days prior to this deposition, wiped out any uncertainty. I have absolutely no choice because the current Administration and many prosecutors in this Country have lost all moral and ethical bounds of decency.”

“Accordingly,” he concluded, “under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I declined to answer the questions on the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.”