Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment rights in his long-awaited deposition with the New York attorney general's office
Trump previously said innocent people don't plead the 5th, but that he had to do so Wednesday because his family is being politically scapegoated.
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- Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment rights in a highly anticipated deposition with NY AG Tish James' office.
- He released a lengthy statement afterward calling James a "failed politician."
- He added that he had "no choice" but to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination during a deposition with New York attorney general Tish James' office.
Shortly after he was seen arriving for his deposition, Trump released a lengthy statement lambasting James as a "failed politician" and accusing her of having "intentionally colluded with others" in a political fishing expedition against his family.
"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. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice."
The statement continued: "If there was any question in my mind, the raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, on Monday by the FBI, just two days prior to this deposition, wiped out any uncertainty. I have absolutely no choice because the current Administration and many prosecutors in this Country have lost all moral and ethical bounds of decency."
"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," it said.
Trump's highly anticipated deposition came after a months-long legal fight during which the Trump family unsuccessfully tried to get a New York court to invalidate subpoenas for testimony from James' office.
The AG is conducting a sprawling investigation into whether the Trump Organization engaged in financial fraud and violated tax, insurance, and banking laws.
Trump's two eldest children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, were deposed last week, and Trump was seen arriving at James' office Wednesday morning.
Wednesday wasn't the first time Trump invoked his constitutional rights against self-incrimination. In 1990, he pleaded the 5th in response to questions about adultery during his bitter divorce proceedings with first wife Ivana.
But Trump adopted a different stance during the 2016 election, suggesting that staffers who had worked for then Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had something to hide when they invoked their Fifth Amendment rights during a congressional investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
"The mob takes the Fifth," he said at a September 2016 campaign rally. "If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?"
This story is developing. Check back for updates.