Near the start of the deposition, Trump gave his name and read an announcement that called the investigation into whether his real estate company violated New York tax laws a continuation of "the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country" and stated James "openly campaigned on a policy of destroying me," his lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, told theNew York Times. James did not visibly react, Fischetti stressed.
Amid "questions about valuations and golf clubs and all that stuff,” Trump invoked his right against self-incrimination as he repeated "same answer" during the deposition, which was interspersed with breaks, per the lawyer. Overall, it was a four-hour session.
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An announcement issued by Trump after the deposition, which lasted from around 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., stated he "declined to answer" questions throughout his deposition. In fact, he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 440 times, a source explained to CNBC. James's office affirmed that Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
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"While we will not comment on specific details, we can confirm that today, our office conducted a deposition of former president Donald Trump," the office announced. "Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition during which Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Attorney General James will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Our investigation continues."
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James, a Democrat, has been conducting a civil inquiry into whether the Trump Organization improperly manipulated asset valuations for tax and business benefits. This is one of several probes Trump is facing as he mulls a third run for president.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, announced in a post to his Truth Social platform, "Accordingly, under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution."
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The attorney general's office was not given a warning that Trump would not answer the questions, Fischetti explained to the New York Times, because Trump wanted to answer all questions.
"He absolutely wanted to testify, and it took some very strong persuasion by me and some others to convince him," Fischetti announced
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The statement that Mr. Trump read overlapped significantly with one that he released publicly earlier in the day, in which he linked his refusal to answer questions to the F.B.I.’s search of his home on Monday, casting the actions as part of a larger effort by his political opponents to discredit him.
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