Donald Trump, a former US president, has claimed that he declined to respond to questions put to him under oath when he appeared before the New York state attorney general as part of a probe into his business transactions.
On Wednesday morning, Trump had appeared at the offices of the state's attorney general, Letitia James, to provide testimony in a lengthy civil investigation of the Trump Organization's financials.According to the rights and freedoms granted to every citizen by the United States Constitution, I declined to answer the questions, Trump stated in a statement.
The right to stay silent when questioned by authorities is guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution in order to avoid self-incrimination.According to numerous US media reports, the FBI investigated Trump's Florida residence less than two days prior to his deposition there as part of a different investigation into suspected classified document handling violations by the former president.
After Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before Congress that the former president inflated his assets "when it served his purposes,” the New York attorney general opened the civil probe in 2019.Trump's company "used fraudulent or deceptive asset assessments to obtain a plethora of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions," according to "substantial" evidence that James' agency has found, according to court documents.
Trump, who has already said he will run for president again in 2024, has criticized the New York investigation, the federal investigation, and the congressional committee looking into the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as being politically motivated.
He emphasized – without providing any proof – that he did "nothing wrong" on Wednesday and that he is the target of baseless claims from federal authorities, state prosecutors, and what he called the "fake news media."
The FBI raid on my home, Mar-a-Lago, on Monday, just two days before my deposition, "wiped out all uncertainty in my mind," Trump claimed.The current administration and many prosecutors in this country have lost any sense of morality and ethical decency, therefore I have no option.While the FBI search has been attributed by many Republicans to President Joe Biden, the White House has stressed that it does not interfere with Department of Justice-led investigations.On Wednesday, Trump singled out New York's James for criticism, branding her a "failed politician" and charging that she was on a "vendetta" against him.
While president, Trump was twice impeached, including in early 2021 for sparking a riot at the US Capitol as lawmakers were confirming Biden's victory. Despite this, the Senate upheld his acquittal in votes along party lines.
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