Trump uses 5th Amendment, refuses to present himself in front of AG in NY

By Ashe New York, Aug 11 : Former US President Donald Trump kept his date with New York Attorney General in Manhattan but did not take questions from the Attorney Generals office an eminent and unexpected gamble in an extremely high-risk legal interview that could determine the direction of an investigation by the civil court into his business practices of the possibility that he has abused tax breaks.

Just after the beginning of questioning in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Trumps office issued an announcement that he will claim the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in explaining that he "declined to answer questions regarding the rights and privileges granted to all citizens under the US Constitution".

Two sources who were informed confirmed that he refused to answer questions and citing the Fifth Amendment, The New York Times reported.Since March Attorney General Letitia Jamess office is investigating whether rumps company and rump have erroneously inflated the price of his golf clubs, hotels as well as other properties.

Trump has been adamant about dismissing the inquiry of James as an political "witch hunting".In the statement he made on Wednesday he declared it to be part of an even larger conspiracies against him tying it with the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago his private club and home in Palm Beach, Florida on Monday "I once asked: If youre innocent, then why are you enforcing the Fifth Amendment?" he stated in the quote."Now I have the answer to the question.

" Trump declared the he was targeted by prosecutors, lawyers, and news media and Trump was left with "no option".However, there are other reasons Trump might have chosen to not answer any questions.

While Jamess investigation is civil and she is not able to bring criminal charges against the former president The Manhattan District Attorneys Office has been conducting a criminal investigation to determine if Trump fraudulently overvalued the value of his property.A lapse from the former president in the deposition of his son could have brought fresh life into the investigation, The New York Times stated.

Trump previously was not expected to assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination.He has always considered himself the most credible spokesperson and those who doubted Trump in the past and several of his own advisors believed he was likely to remain in the dark.

The choice could have a major influence on any trial should Jamess investigation results in an action.Jurors in civil cases can draw a negative conclusion when the defendant invokes his or the Fifth Amendment privilege, unlike in criminal cases in which exercising the right to self-incrimination is not able to be taken as evidence against the accused.

Refraining from speaking out could be detrimental to Trump politically, especially at a point when he is indicating that he will be a candidate in the presidential race in 2024 which could raise doubts regarding the nature of what he might be hiding.The past has seen Trump has slammed witnesses who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, once commenting at a rally that, "you see the mob is taking the Fifth" and "if youre innocent then why do you need to invoke the Fifth Amendment?" The District Attorney, Alvin L.Bragg was concerned about the likelihood of proving an accusation against Trump However, he has stated that he is keeping track of Jamess investigation and plans to examine Trumps comments on Wednesday.The Presidents decision not to answer the questions could open up new avenues in the investigation.

Trump is also dealing with a myriad of other investigations.Together with the FBI investigation at Mar-a-Lago federal prosecutors are interrogating witnesses regarding the role he played in efforts to redress his electoral loss as well as A House special committee conducted a string of hearings that tie Trump more tightly to the Jan.6 2021, attack on the Capitol and the District Attorney in Georgia is looking into possible election interference by the part of the president.Trump and his allies.

Jamess investigation could conclude earlier than other investigations.Instead of filing an action that could take many years to settle, she could first pursue settlement talks with the lawyers of the former President to secure a smaller financial payment.

However, should she eventually sues Trump and if James wins in court the judge may punish him with hefty financial penalties Trump and impose restrictions on his business activities in New York.In attempting to stop a lawsuit brought by James, The New York Times stated that Trumps lawyers could claim that valuing real property is a subjective procedure and that his company simply calculated the worth of his property, with no intention of artificially inflating them.

While James has claimed in court documents that the Trump Organization provided bogus valuations to banks in order to secure favorable loans and the lawyers for the former President could argue that they were sophisticated financial institutions who made huge profits from their interactions with Trump.The depositions are the conclusion of weeks of legal battles.

In the month of January, Trump asked a judge in New York to strike off a subpoena from James for his testimony and personal documents.The judge, Arthur F.Engoron who sided with James and ordered the Trumps to be present, a decision which an appellate court confirmed.Jamess request was granted, Justice Engoron held Trump in contempt of the court, determining that he was not in compliance with the conditions of the AGs subpoena to obtain his documents.

It was a humiliating two-week incident that led to Trump to pay a penalty of $110,000.In the court hearing held in April for the contempt warrant One of Jamess attorneys, Kevin Wallace, indicated that the investigation was close to its conclusion.

Jamess office, he said, would require an "enforcement action" in the "near future".A lawsuit, also known as settlement agreement, is likely to charge Trump as well as his firm of fraud inflating the value of his hotels, golf clubs, as well as other properties in his financial statements.

Trumps company has provided the financial documents to banks in the hope of getting loans.James disclosed in an application to the court this year that Trumps long-time accountant firm, which created these financial statements, has cut connections with the president.Mazars, the firm that prepared them.

Mazars basically retracted almost 10 years worth of Trumps financial statements, The New York Times reported.Trumps deposition is the final stage of the civil investigation that took three years by the AG which will lead to one of the most significant choices of her tenure: whether to file a lawsuit against Trump and his company.James the Democrat seeking the second time in November she is playing the role of Trumps primary opponent in New York.

In addition, in the past few time, she has adopted an unusually aggressive legal strategy.This includes convincing a judge to find the former president in contempt of the law, as she struggled to obtain his records and his testimony.

However, Trump claimed his constitutional right to not be incriminated during the deposition and refused to address questions.He has repeatedly dismissed the investigation of James as an political "witch hunt" and in an announcement made before the deposition started, he painted James as an overly enthusiastic and politically-motivated prosecutor.

The argument that Jamess probe was motivated by politics has not convinced judges.Trumps lawyers tried to make it work in order to avoid investigation, but they were unsuccessful.

James who was a former New York City councilwoman from Brooklyn who was elected the citys public advocate.She was appointed attorney general in 2018 and became the first Black woman to hold the statewide office.

Her victory put her at the top of the legal battle against Trumps policies in states with Democratic leadership.She succeeds Barbara D.Underwood, who had a number of cases in the midst of a legal battle against Trump and his administration, including an investigation of his charitable foundation and lawsuits to stop families of immigrants from being separated from their families at the border.James promised to keep up the offices oversight of the president "He must know that in this city in New York, and I, in particular, we arent afraid of the people who are afraid of you," she said in her victory speech.

"And when I become the attorney general of his home state I will shine a the light of truth into every dark corner of his real estate transactions and all transactions and requiring honesty in every transaction." She did not break her word, and became a adversary in Trumps side.

In March of 2019, she started a civil investigation into whether Trump deliberately misrepresented the worth of his properties to obtain financial advantages with tax authorities and lenders.In January of this year, she accused the Trump Organization of repeatedly lying about the worth of its assets to boost its profits, and claimed that the company was been involved in "fraudulent or deceitful" practices.

The filing was made in the wake of Trumps attempt to stop James from interrogating James along with two of his adult children under an oath.Three months after that, she filed a motion to hold Trump in contempt for his failure to provide documents.

The filing cited a reply from the legal department of Trump, which who claimed that the AGs demands were "grossly excessive, confusing and excessively heavy" and failed to "adequately" explain the required documents.A judge decided in Jamess favor and imposed a penalty of $110,000.

James scored a huge victory when the judge ordered Trump to answer questions regarding his wealth and the nature of an alleged financial esoteric act.ashe/ .