Donald Trump said he invoked the Fifth Amendment and would not answer sworn questions during the lengthy New York civil investigation into his business dealings.
The former US president arrived at the office of attorney general Letitia James in New York in a convoy of cars just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
More than an hour later, he said he “refused to answer questions about the rights and privileges afforded to all citizens under the United States Constitution”.
Anything he said during the takedown could be used against him in a criminal case.
While Ms. James’ investigation is civil in nature, the Manhattan district attorney is conducting a parallel criminal investigation.
The Fifth Amendment establishes a person’s right not to be “forced to bear witness against himself in any criminal case”.
In the most direct sense, that means criminal defendants don’t have to present damning evidence in their own cases.
But it also applies in non-criminal contexts.
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‘Take Thursday – I think it’s shameful’
In a statement, Mr Trump said: “I used to ask, ‘If you are innocent, why did you make the Fifth Amendment?”
“Now I know the answer to that question.
“When your family, your company and everyone in your orbit becomes the target of a politically motivated baseless witch hunt backed by lawyers, prosecutors and fake media, you have no other choice.”
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Legal experts say the same strategy could backfire in a takedown setting because anything he says could be used in a criminal investigation.
His decision was made just a few days later FBI agents search his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of an unrelated federal investigation into whether he obtained classified files while leaving the White House.
The civil investigation, led by Ms James, concerns allegations that Mr Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misrepresented the value of prized properties such as golf courses and skyscrapers. , misleading lenders and tax authorities.
