NEW YORK (AFP) — Former United States president Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to answer questions under oath about alleged fraud at his family business.
Trump said he had “no choice” but to invoke the Fifth Amendment — which allows individuals to remain silent under questioning — during hours of deposition at the New York attorney general’s office in Manhattan.
“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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James suspects the Trump Organization fraudulently overstated the value of real estate properties when applying for bank loans, while understating them with tax authorities to pay less in taxes.