Former US President Donald Trump said in a statement that he declined to answer questions Wednesday during a hearing before the New York state attorney general as part of a civil investigation into his family’s business practices. However, the former president spent about six hours in Letiti James’ office, which indicates, according to Reuters, that he faced questions.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a civil investigation into the family’s business practices Donald Trump. It is investigating whether the Trump Organization has overestimated real estate values. Donald Trump and his two adult children, Donald Trump Jr. Ivanka Trump agreed to testify. “Tonight in New York. I’m going to meet the racist attorney general to continue the biggest witch hunt in history.” United States of America! My big company and I are under attack from all sides. Banana Republic! Trump wrote late Tuesday evening in a post on his social platform Truth.
The former US president was scheduled to appear before James on Wednesday. As he left Trump Tower in the morning, dressed in a blue suit and pin emblazoned with the flag on his lapel, he raised his clenched fist in a gesture of protest. There were policemen and Secret Service personnel on the spot until the column he was transporting arrived.
The former president later said in a statement that he refused to answer the attorney general’s questions “as part of the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the U.S. Constitution.” She appeared about an hour after the former president arrived at the prosecutor’s office, where he was to testify behind closed doors.
Trump continued, “I once asked: If you’re innocent, why would you invoke the Fifth Amendment?” “Now I know the answer to that question,” he added. “When your family, your business, and all the people in your ark become the target of a baseless and politically motivated witch hunt with the support of lawyers, prosecutors, and the fake news media, you have no choice.”
However, Trump himself did not leave the New York state attorney general’s office until about six hours after his arrival, which Reuters news agency noted, indicating that he faced questions for most of the day.
A spokeswoman for the New York state attorney general declined to comment on Trump’s testimony. His lawyer also did not respond to requests for comment.
Attorney General Letitia James accuses the Trump Company, he and his two children, of understating the value of real estate owned by the Trump Organization to pay lower taxes, and of overestimating it when applying for loans. In July 2021, New York state authorities indicted Trump Corporation for tax fraud in the amount of $900,000.
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution protects against self-incrimination or forced admission of guilt. However, Trump’s decision not to answer questions may have consequences. If the investigation leads to a trial, the jurors may consider his silence. Reuters also asserts that this could give his opponents the basis for suggesting that Trump has something to hide when considering running for president in 2024.
Find Donald Trump’s mansion
On Monday, Trump announced that FBI agents searched his residence Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. The property search started from Monday to Tuesday evening, Poland time. The former US president was not a resident at the time, spending the summer at his golf club in Bedminster, NJ.
Our nation lives in times of darkness. My sweet home, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is under siege and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. Donald Trump said they broke into my safe, and announced that FBI agents had searched his property.
CNN, citing its sources, reported that as a result of the search, FBI agents removed boxes of documents from the property of former US President Donald Trump in Florida.
Read also: Trump and his children will have to testify under oath in the undermining of property case
In turn, the New York Times, citing its sources, stated that the search appears to be related to documents, among them secret documents, that Donald Trump, a violator of the law, was scheduled to take from the White House to Florida.
The FBI and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the matter.
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