Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images
Never-before-seen video was released Tuesday of the affidavit that the New York attorney general’s office Letitia James it took the former president donald trump in August 2022 on the trump organizationin which Trump invoked the fifth amendment and refused to answer questions, according to CNN.
“Anyone in my position who did not accept the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool,” Trump said at the beginning of the statement.
The former president invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 400 times during the deposition, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees that the government cannot force a person to provide incriminating information about themselves, the so-called “right to remain silent.”
Trump was ousted as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil investigation into the company’s business practices. trump organizationan investigation that culminated in a lawsuit filed by James in September against Trump, some of his children and executives from his business
The Trump Organization was sanctioned in 2022 to pay a fine of $1.6 million dollars for tax fraud.
New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to prosecute Donald Trump, his children and his family business the Trump Organization for commercial fraud in 2023, according to a letter the attorney general’s office filed with the court.
The video is a close shot of Trump. The investigators questioning him are not on camera. Prosecutor Letitia James can be heard introducing herself at the beginning of the statement.
After a perfunctory back and forth between Trump and investigators over the terms of the statement, Trump read a lengthy statement in which called James’ investigation “the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country.” He said he would assert his constitutional rights not to answer questions in the statement.
His rambling opening statement, which lasted nearly seven minutes, included accusations that James was investigating him for political reasons and included criticism of Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer whose testimony before Congress about his business practices launched the attorney general’s investigation. He also referenced the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home, which occurred two days before the Aug. 10 deposition.
Trump said he had “no choice” but to invoke the Fifth Amendment. “We cannot allow a rogue and out-of-control prosecutor to use this investigation as a means to advance her political career,” Trump said.
Once the questioning began, which included questions about his company’s financial statements and how the Trump Organization operated, Trump gave a canned response to his invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights: “same answer.”
The statement unfolded over the course of several hours on August 10. The video posted on Tuesday lasts approximately 37 minutes.s and covers the portions of the statement transcript that had been released earlier. The full video can be seen here.
This deposition of former President Trump before the New York Attorney’s Office occurred when Trump continues to face a barrage of legal pressure, two federal criminal investigations, a criminal investigation in Georgia with an “imminent” charging decision, among other court cases.
With information from CNN, CBS News and MSNBC
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