And the Donald Trump news cycle continues.
The former president invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 440 times during a Wednesday deposition before lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, which is conducting a probe into the Trump Organization's business practices, NBC News reports, per a source close to the situation.
"I once asked, 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?'" Trump wrote in a statement, per NBC News. "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 Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
James' office is investigating whether the Trump Organization illegally inflated the value of its assets. A spokesperson for the AG later confirmed the former president had taken the Fifth but did not detail the number of times, NBC News reports.
Per Trump attorney Ron Fischetti, the only question Trump answered was about his name. The former president was otherwise asked about "the valuations of various items and golf clubs, signing documents, mortgages, loans and the size of his apartment," and pleaded the Fifth for all of those inquiries, NBC News summarizes, per Fischetti.
The deposition comes only days after FBI agents executed a search warrant at Trump's Florida mansion, in what is believed to be part of a separate investigation into Trump's handling of classified White House documents.
-
How will China’s $1 trillion trade surplus change the world economy?Today’s Big Question Europe may impose its own tariffs
-
‘Autarky and nostalgia aren’t cure-alls’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Japan’s Princess Aiko is a national star. Her fans want even more.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Fresh off her first solo state visit to Laos, Princess Aiko has become the face of a Japanese royal family facing 21st-century obsolescence
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
The Trump administration says it deports dangerous criminals. ICE data tells a different story.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Arrest data points to an inconvenient truth for the White House’s ongoing deportation agenda
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump: Losing energy and supportFeature Polls show that only one of his major initiatives—securing the border—enjoys broad public support
-
Is Trump in a bubble?Today’s Big Question GOP allies worry he is not hearing voters
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
