Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower after making a statement to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued him and his Trump Organization, on April 13, 2023 in New York City. Photo Credit: Reuters
Former President Donald Trump answered questions for nearly seven hours Thursday during his second deposition in a legal battle with the New York attorney general over his company’s business practices, invoking his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and keeping quiet. Reversed the earlier decision to stay.
Republicans met throughout the day with lawyers for Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Mr Trump last year. Her lawsuit claims that Trump and his family misled banks and business associates by providing false information about their net worth and the value of properties such as hotels and golf courses.
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Shortly after Mr Trump entered the Manhattan skyscraper, the office of James, his lawyer, Alina Habba said she is “not only willing but eager to testify”,
Ms Habba said in a statement, “She is steadfast in her stance that she has nothing to hide, and she looks forward to educating the attorney general about the immense success of her multi-billion dollar company “
The lawsuit is not related to the felony criminal charges filed against Mr Trump by the Manhattan district attorney that led to his historic indictment last week, the first for a former president.
In a social media post Thursday morning, Mr. Trump called the suit “ridiculous,” just like all the other election interference cases being brought against him.
He raised his fist as soon as he left his apartment in Trump Tower in the morning, reached the Attorney General’s office by convoy at around 9.40 am. Both sides took a break for lunch. Mr Trump walked into the motorcade just before 6.15pm and did not stop to speak to reporters.
Ms James declined to answer a question about the statement at a news conference on an unrelated matter on Wednesday.
Mr Trump had earlier met with Ms James’s lawyers on August 10 but declined to answer all but a few procedural questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights more than 400 times. At the time, Ms. James had not filed her lawsuit and it was unclear whether questions about the way Mr. Trump valued his company would form the basis of a criminal case.
“Anybody in my position who would not invoke the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, a complete fool,” he said in the statement, which was recorded on video and later publicly released. Trump predicted that a “renegade” prosecutor would try to build a criminal case out of his answers, if he gave them.
“a statement or answer that is ever so slightly off, just ever so slightly, by accident, by mistake, as if it were a sunny, beautiful day, when in fact it was a little overcast, at a level rarely observed by law enforcement will ever be accomplished in this country, because I have experienced it,” he said.
Circumstances have changed since then. The criminal charges, brought by the Manhattan district attorney, focused on how the company was held internally responsible for paying Michael Cohen, an attorney, for his work publicizing people with stories about extramarital sexual encounters. Trump said that never happened.
The lawsuit brought by Ms James is set to go to trial in October. Video recordings of Mr Trump’s statements could potentially be played at trial if the lawsuit is not settled.
Thursday’s deposition was held privately.