Former President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment privileges during a New York deposition conducted in connection with an ongoing civil suit.
The case, prosecuted by New York Attorney General Letitia James, claims that Trump’s company improperly reported company assets, allegedly inflating the value of items such as golf resorts, to improve loan standing or obtain other financial benefits.
In court documents filed earlier this year, James alleged that “Mr. Trump may have improperly obtained more than $5 million in federal tax benefits from misleading valuations of conservation easements.”
For example, James accused Trump’s company of wrongly tabulating the value of unsold golf resort memberships by failing to consider ongoing sales used to increase membership.
James, up for reelection next year, has used her pursuit of President Trump as a significant factor in her election campaign — potentially giving credence to concerns that the case is motivated more by political partisanship than by legal concern.
On the campaign trail, James told supporters, “I look forward to going into the office of Attorney General every day, suing him.”
She also promised crowds, “We’re going to definitely sue him. We’re going to be a real pain in the a–.”
Trump denounced the investigation, saying, “We cannot permit a renegade and out-of-control prosecutor to use this investigation as a means of advancing her political career. New York deserves better, and this country deserves better.”
Previously, Trump suggested that there is no reason for innocent parties to invoke the Fifth Amendment, which allows people to refuse to offer information that might inflict self-incrimination. However, in a statement released on Wednesday, August 10, he expounded upon his shifting understanding of the application of the amendment.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” he wrote. “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 continued, “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, under the advice of my counsel and for all the above reasons, I declined to answer the question under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.”
According to the New York Attorney General’s office, Trump has already produced more than 5 million pages and nearly 1 million documents about his financial dealings.
Although the deposition is in conjunction with an ongoing civil trial, if Trump decided to answer questions, it could have impacted a stalled criminal investigation previously suspended by controversial Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. The DA had questioned the strength of the case amid gaps in the evidence.
If James’ probe uncovers sufficient proof of alleged wrongdoing, she could convert her efforts into a criminal case.