Breaking: Trump Says He Took Fifth Amendment in N.Y. Attorney General Fraud Probe

Former president Trump announced Wednesday that he invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions in New York attorney general Letitia James’ civil investigation into his family’s real-estate holdings.

“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,” Trump said in a statement. “I once asked, 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?' Now I know the answer to that question.”

Trump arrived at James’s office Wednesday morning to be deposed after his children Ivanka Trump and Don Jr. sat down with James’s team earlier this month.

James has been conducting a probe of the Trump Organization to decipher whether Trump and his company committed financial fraud by overvaluing assets in its property portfolio, specifically an estate in Westchester, N.Y., a skyscraper at 40 Wall Street, and a Trump Tower residence in Manhattan, in order to receive loans and tax relief.

Trump’s Fifth Amendment appeal comes after his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, was searched by the FBI Tuesday on the pretense that he allegedly mishandled classified documents.

In April, Trump was held in civil contempt of court  by a New York judge for failing to respond to a subpoena issued by James' office in declining to submit some request materials by the March 31 deadline.

Trump Says He Took Fifth Amendment in N.Y. Attorney General Fraud Probe ‘I once asked, 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?' Now I know the answer to that ... READ MORE ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.