The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Trump takes the Fifth in civil suit deposition
In past, he had ridiculed others exercising right
NEW YORK » Donald Trump declined to answer questions from the New York state attorney general’s office Wednesday, a surprising gamble in a high-stakes legal interview that likely will determine the course of a civil investigation into his company’s business practices.
Shortly after questioning began Wednesday morning, Trump’s office released a statement saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, explaining that he “declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.”
Trump answered only one question, about his name, toward the beginning of the interview, one of his lawyers, Ronald Fischetti, said. Then he read a statement accusing the attorney general, Letitia James, who sat across from him, of having “openly campaigned on a policy of destroying me.” James did not visibly react. After that, Trump repeated the words “same answer” from about 9:30 a.m. to around 3 p.m., with several breaks.
Since March 2019, James’ office has investigated whether Trump and his company improperly inflated the value of his hotels, golf clubs and other assets. Trump has long dismissed the inquiry from James, a Democrat, as a partisan “witch hunt.”
In his statement Wednesday, he cast it as part of a grander conspiracy against him, linking it to the FBI search at Mar-a-lago, his home and private club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’” he said in the statement. “Now I know the answer to that question.” He said that he was being targeted by lawyers, prosecutors and the news media, and that left him with “no choice.”
But there are other reasons Trump may have decided not to answer questions. While James’ inquiry is civil, and she cannot file criminal charges against the former president, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has been conducting a parallel criminal investigation into whether Trump fraudulently inflated valuations of his properties. Any misstep from the former president in his deposition could have breathed new life into that inquiry.
Trump had not been expected to invoke his constitutional right against selfincrimination. He has long considered himself his best spokesman, and those who had questioned him in the past, as well as some of his own advisers, believed he was unlikely to stay quiet.
His decision could have a significant impact on any trial if James’ investigation leads to a lawsuit. Jurors in civil matters can draw a negative inference when a defendant invokes his or her Fifth Amendment privilege, unlike in criminal cases, where exercising the right against selfincrimination cannot be held against the defendant.
In the past, Trump has ridiculed witnesses for invoking their Fifth Amendment rights, once remarking at a rally that, “You see the mob takes the Fifth,” and, “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, had developed concerns about proving a case against Trump, but he has said that he is monitoring James’ investigation and planned to scrutinize Trump’s responses on Wednesday. The former president’s decision not to answer those questions may forestall new avenues in that investigation.
Trump is also contending with a litany of other inquiries. Along with the FBI search at Mar-a-lago, federal prosecutors are questioning witnesses about his involvement in efforts to reverse his election loss; a House select committee held a series of hearings tying him more closely to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol; and a district attorney in Georgia is investigating potential election interference on the part of Trump and his allies.