Trump Pleads The Fifth To All Questions In New York Attorney General Deposition

In New York Wednesday, Donald Trump began a meeting with the state’s Attorney General, Letitia James, and is invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incriminations, meaning he provided no answers to her questions about the financial conduct of the Trump Organization. This comes the same week the FBI raided his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago for a separate investigation into whether he improperly took classified records from the White House.

His motorcade was seen entering James’ Manhattan office around 9 a.m. His children Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. sat for depositions last week and reportedly did not take the Fifth. As he went into the office, Trump’s team released a coordinated set of videos attempting to discredit James, continuing his past accusations that her investigation is politically motivated.

The civil investigation regards whether he and the Trump Organization knowingly exaggerated the values of their portfolio of properties like certain buildings and golf courses to get more favorable loans. Trump also called the investigation a “Witch Hunt” on social media on the day of the deposition, and has repeatedly attempted to block subpoenas of himself and his children before today. The family was granted a brief delay after the death of his ex-wife Ivana Trump.

Eric Trump was deposed in 2020, and he along with the Trump Organization’s CFO Allen Weisselberg took the fifth around 500 times while fielding questions from the Attorney General. Trump has provided testimony for legal bumps in the past, but perhaps due to mounting pressure and stakes considering he may announce a bid for President in 2024, his team is worried that he would get knocked off the rails.

According to sources with inside knowledge of the deposition, Trump is likely to spend most of the day in the office having to reject every question the investigators pose. AG James’ office has not specified an end time for the questioning.