Former President Donald Trump said in a statement on Wednesday who invoked the Fifth Amendment during his sworn statement as part of the New York Attorney General’s civil investigation into the finances of the Trump Organization.
In the lengthy statement, Trump criticized New York Attorney General Letitia James for being politically motivated, saying she “didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why do you accept the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” Trump wrote in announcing his decision to invoke his right against self-incrimination.
“When your family, your company, and everyone in your orbit have become the target of an unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt supported by fake lawyers, prosecutors, and the media, you have no choice.”
Trump’s opponents mocked him for earlier comments criticizing people for taking the Fifth. During a campaign stop in September 2016, Trump compared people who invoke the Fifth Amendment to mobsters: “The mob takes the fifth. If you are innocent, why do you accept the Fifth Amendment?
At the time, his comments were directed at former Hillary Clinton employees who had invoked the Fifth Amendment during investigations into Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was US Secretary of State.
The James investigation began after Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, told federal lawmakers in 2019 that Trump regularly inflated his property values and net worth to get better insurance and loan rates. His office said in May that he was nearing the end of its investigation and that investigators had amassed substantial evidence that could support legal action, such as a lawsuit, against Trump, his company or both.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said Trump’s decision has ramifications because James is conducting a civil investigation, not a criminal one.
“Trump was right to take the Fifth, but that decision has consequences”, Mariotti
said. “While your silence cannot be used against you in a criminal case, it can be used against you in the GA civil case. If you are sued, jurors can be instructed that they should assume your answers would have hurt you.”
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Trump has previously suggested the investigation is politically motivated, saying James “literally campaigned to impeach Donald Trump before she even knew anything about me.” at the beginning of this year.
The former president’s statement comes days after federal agents raided his Mar-a-Lago home in connection with an investigation into allegations that he took classified White House records, a potentially serious violation of the law.
Contributor: David Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment in the New York investigation against the Trump Organization