NEW YORK — For months, former President Donald Trump called New York Attorney General Tish James “a racist attorney general,” saying she campaigned on how “we’re going to get Donald Trump.”
On Wednesday morning, she got him — at least for a deposition he fought hard to avoid.
It marked the latest chapter of James’ yearslong civil probe into whether Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate holdings. Two “essential components” to resolving her investigation were collecting testimony from Trump and determining his knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing, she’s said in court papers.
But it looks like the deposition might not move the needle much after all. Trump declined to answer questions Wednesday, deciding instead to plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” Trump said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”
In a statement, James confirmed she was in the room when Trump declined to answer questions.
“While we will not comment on specific details, we can confirm that today, our office conducted a deposition of former president Donald Trump,” an AG spokesperson said. “Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition during which Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Attorney General James will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Our investigation continues.”
Observers said that Trump’s sit-down with James suggests the probe is in its final stages, pointing to another recent high-profile questioning — that of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, whose 11-hour interview with James was one of the last steps before she released her final report on his unrelated misconduct.
Legal experts said the former president’s decision could create an impression among some — including a potential jury — that he has something to hide.
“What it’s saying is that he’s afraid if he testifies, what he says will be used against him in some criminal proceeding,” said Vincent M. Bonventre, a professor and director of the Center for Judicial Process in New York at Albany Law School.
And James could theoretically seize on that perception.
“Now [James] can claim that, well, he pleads the Fifth, then he’s worried about potentially having some criminal liability and therefore her investigation is meritorious and she can proceed with bringing claims against him and proceed to trial,” said Joshua Schiller, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP who has fought cases with the attorney general. “On the other hand, I imagine that [Trump] is going to say, ‘Well, I’m not going to answer any questions, because this is a kangaroo court, and no one would listen to me anyway.”
That’s exactly what Trump suggested in his Wednesday statement, while connecting James’ investigation with federal agents searching his Mar-a-Lago estate earlier this week.
“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,” Trump wrote.
State and federal courts have repeatedly dismissed Trump’s claims the case is politically motivated and denied his bid to evade a deposition.
Former President Donald Trump departs Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general’s office for a deposition in a civil investigation.