On Wednesday, Donald Trump sat for a deposition in New York. He was deposed by the New York State attorney general’s office, and NY AG Letitia James was there for the beginning of the depo. The bulk of the deposition was conducted by Kevin Wallace, one of AG James’s staffers. Every question got the same answer, as Donald Trump pleaded the Fifth, invoking his right against self-incrimination. He did make a very special and very bigly statement at the start of the deposition about how all of this is a witch hunt.
The New York State attorney general, Letitia James, sat across from Donald J. Trump as he repeatedly declined to answer questions, invoking his right against self-incrimination during a deposition on Wednesday, according to one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers. The lawyer, Ronald P. Fischetti, said that over the course of about four hours, with several breaks, Mr. Trump answered only one question, about his name, toward the beginning of the interview.
Then he read a statement into the record in which he called the inquiry a continuation of “the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country” and accused Ms. James of having “openly campaigned on a policy of destroying me.”
Ms. James did not visibly react, Mr. Fischetti said in an interview. After that, Mr. Trump repeated the words “same answer” from about 9:30 a.m. to around 3 p.m., with a long break for lunch and several shorter breaks.
“They asked a lot of questions about valuations and golf clubs and all that stuff,” Mr. Fischetti said. He said that Mr. Trump did not diverge from that answer, offering the same response until the interview was over.
The attorney general’s office had not been alerted in advance that Mr. Trump was going to take the fifth, Mr. Fischetti said, in part because the decision was made only shortly before the interview and Mr. Trump had to be persuaded not to answer the questions substantively.
“He absolutely wanted to testify, and it took some very strong persuasion by me and some others to convince him,” Mr. Fischetti said.
The statement that Mr. Trump read overlapped significantly with one that he released publicly earlier in the day, in which he linked his refusal to answer questions to the F.B.I.’s search of his home on Monday, casting the actions as part of a larger effort by his political opponents to discredit him. (The two investigations are not linked.)
I know it’s hard to keep track of all of the separate investigations into Trump. Even I had to look it up, because there are just so many and I was like “wait, is this about his stupid charity scams?” No – AG James has done a three-year investigation into Trump Org’s finances, whether Trump “fraudulently inflated the value of his assets to secure loans and other benefits.” AG James has evidence that Trump misled tax officials and banks. Now, post-deposition, James has to make the call as to whether to sue Trump or whether to “seek a settlement that could extract a significant financial penalty.”
These are photos from yesterday – Trump throwing his tiny little baby fist up into the air, probably as some kind of white power salute.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- New York, NY – Former US President Donald J. Trump stayed at Trump Tower overnight following a dinner in Bedminster, New Jersey. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ 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 … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ 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 … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ 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 … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ 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 … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ 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 … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
That’s the face of a cornered dog walking out of Trump Tower. He forgot his Tangerine Glow. I wonder if he’s begging Melanie for her prenup money now
It’s definitely the face of “omg I’m screwed”
My word, he is a grotesque creature.
He’s the Donald Trump of Josh Hawleys.
Bahahahahhaha
Where’s Trump’s gassy, hair dye raining-down-his-face legal whiz kid?
Hanging out at Four Seasons Total Landscaping again?
Rudy’s got his own problems right now. He is in the middle of arguing with Fulton GA officials that he is too ill to fly to Georgia to answer their questions. He was being told to take the train or get an uber.
“He absolutely wanted to testify, and it took some very strong persuasion by me and some others to convince him,” Mr. Fischetti said.
My first thought when I read the intro to this was how hard his lawyers/team must have had to work to persuade him to do this. We all know how much he loves to whine and left to his own devices would absolutely have pulled a Prince Andrew on the record. The compromise was clearly his little speech at the end.
Also ‘a long break for lunch’. This guy has never done a full day’s work in his life.
funny how people see things. i saw this as an absolute lie. as much as trump likes to talk about himself, i can’t imagine him doing it in an actual court of law where there might be consequences. i think he never had plans to talk, before or after the warrant. the lawyer saying he had to talk trump out of it was kind of like saying, trump wants to clear the air, but others won’t let him kind of thing.
although he’s also a total narcissist, so it could honestly be either theory.
I was thinking the same thing, there’s no way he was going to say anything other than ‘I plead the Fifth’. I think all his previous campaign BS about people pleading the Fifth must be guilty & etc., was just that, campaign BS. He’ll say whatever he thinks works best to his advantage.
My thought, too. His lawyers must have gone hard to get him not to talk. I know people like this–even under oath, Trump would not be capable of appreciating the consequences of lying.
In fact, I went to law school with several folks who worked in Big Law in 2016. The Trump campaign was going door to door trying to get representation (I think because the Russia stuff was already a problem, but probably other issues, too). Not one firm would take Trump because a) he doesn’t pay his bills & b) he doesn’t listen to his attorneys.
Well, as the accused witch in MP and the Holy Grail says, “It’s a fair cop.”
“He absolutely wanted to testify, and it took some very strong persuasion by me and some others to convince him,” Mr. Fischetti said. I do believe he wanted to testify, Donnie boy can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. His lawyers must have knelt before him and begged him to plead the fifth. His lawyers knew that Donald would not be able to navigate through the deposition without incriminating himself within the first minute of the interview. And to be honest, he would incriminate himself because he is GUILTY of the crimes he will be charged for. Donald would have spoken like the deposition was one of his rallies where he could spew any and every lie that come to his mind.
Honestly I’m surprised he was able to answer questions about his name without perjuring himself. His lawyers must have put the fear of God in him, this is probably the first time in his life he’s made it that long without lying.
I’ve read updates yesterday stating he is scared out of his mind. Which may be a good thing. But I digress. Apparently the Trump cronies are trying to find the mole. And that has him scared even more. And if there is a mole, then the secrets are coming out.
It’s the fear of not knowing what’s going on and not being able to control this situation. And yeah, he keeps staying its a witch hunt to help ease his mind.
It’s interesting reading on speculations on who actually is the mole.
@seraphina, I have also read that he is scared. Not a chance. People like him do not experience emotions the way you or I do. They are so accustomed to chaos, and thrive on it. The adrenaline rushes are music to him. He believes he will not ever lose. Never. He cannot bring himself to accept loss, which is partly why we are here. He will die on that hill of ” the best, the greatest, everyone loves me. It’s you that’s the problem not me “. This person was well known to my family. He lives on bringing misery to someone else.
NY AG James can absolutely infer liability in a civil case when the defendant pleads the fifth. While his exercise of his 5A rights was undoubtedly the better strategy in the deposition (because we know he’d have incriminated himself and his entire family, if he’d actually answered their questions, or committed obvious perjury) it gives NY some enticing avenues to pursue going forward. It was a win-win for Letitia either way.
This. The more times the privilege is raised, the more ability she will have to use it against him.
I think the jurors will be able to take a negative inference of his refusal to answer questions. So, this will get even more interesting.
My God, let the man talk! It must have been torture for him to pleath the fifth because of course it implies that he’s done something wrong. I love it. He’s never looked great but in these pics he look like absolute shit.
Yep he looks like a man who is genuinely scared sh!tless – am here for it. His house of cards is tumbling and am sure he continue to con money out of the stupid MAGATs.
Can we just bask in the absolute karma and irony of it all– this man, said no oen who is innocent should have t plead the 5th, and made others into terrible monsters for doing so.
Now, he pleaded the 5th, what, 200 times? In a marathon of 5 hours?
L O L
The nerve of this sack of crap to appropriate the Black power fist for his White Supremacist garbage while having thrown up the White Power symbol every five seconds in every single word salad he spewed during his presidency. I can’t today.
On another note, his bravado notwithstanding, he looks scared. He looks terrible. Even his orange makeup is turning out red because he is flushed and his blood pressure is through the roof. I love that Twitter has the receipts on his statements about pleading the 5th and how anyone who does so isn’t qualified to be president. Except him of course! He’s bigly qualified.
There are so many pots on this stove. If this doesn’t get him – there’s E. Jean. There’s the election improprieties in Georgia. There’s the insurrection. There’s the stolen documents. There are just way too many crimes here. He can’t possibly worm his way out of all of them and he knows it.
Have fun “fundraising.” And keep eating those McRibs jackass. Don’t forget your cup of Aspartame to go with those. Gotta watch that figure and trim those moobs we saw on the golf cart! Everyone is saying Aspartame is good for you. It’s what everyone’s saying. So you should start each day with a big cup of Aspartame and a Quarter Pounder. Don’t forget to supersize those fries because the diet drink allows for that. Also, everyone is saying eating a McRib at 2:00 A.M. gives you energy and makes you invisible. Keep staring right at those lunar eclipses. Keep doing everything exactly the way you’re doing it.
Fabulous. Loved every word.
Thankyou @Poppedbubble. He brings out my absolute worst.
We all know he’s guilty, but I do have a hypothetical question for any lawyers out there: can you plead the 5th if you’re innocent but just don’t want to cooperate for whatever reason?
Not a lawyer, but according to my government professors, yes.
To plead the 5th, the witness has to have a reasonable belief or expectation that the answer could incriminate them. So, for example, if the question is just about something the witness observed and in no way implicates them (e.g., asking a neighbor “who did you see entering the house on x date at y time”?), the invocation of the privilege is improper and if they refuse to answer the question, you move for an order compelling them to answer and the witness would have to explain why answering substantively could incriminate them. I suspect that at least some of DJT’s invocations of the 5th were improper, but the negative inference that can be implied in a civil case may be useful enough to Ms. James that she doesn’t need to challenge it or get an order compelling a substantive response.
Oh look…..he’s doing the “Josh Halwley”….dare I hope a video of him running away is soon to follow???
LOL he can’t run!
That was my first thought, too! Is he going to attempt to run? That’ll be a hoot! He’d need his golf cart brought to him, then ‘run’ away! Run away, run away!
“Mr. Trump had to be persuaded not to answer the questions substantively”.
Because he wanted to lie…..again, as usual. Like he has done all his life with no consequences.
Whiny bitch boy!
I think Trump loves the attention he’s getting, and he’s absolutely thrilled his base is riled up on his behalf.
Trump is such a traitorous pig.
I don’t think he’s scared at all. I think he thinks he’s invincible. I think he thinks his base will get him out of anything and everything. He’s eating up this attention. He’s back on top (of every publication). He’s “trending,” which means he’s in heaven. The polarization of the country, death threats, criminal acts, all of it, is tailor made by 45 for 45.
Agreed. He’s too stupid, too vain, to enamored of himself, to be scared.
SIDEBAR COMMENT=> As a WOC (African-American/Hispanic/Indigenous), I cannot for the life of me understand why TAKE-A-💩 would always: Raise his fist in the BLACK POWER SIGN!🤢🤮—knowing good-damn well that he is one of the MOST RACIST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET! I personally can’t fathom a reason why he does this. IMPHO, this is the equivalent of a person from another racial background speaking “Blaccent” and race appropriating, especially if that individual is prejudiced. He looks REDUNKULOUS doing so. Plus, a few people called over and waved to him when he was leaving the AG’s Office in NYC yesterday (no doubt his “follower-slaves”😒). I’m just SICK of this azz! LOCK HIM UP and THROW AWAY THE KEY–4EVER! 👆☝🏽 End Of Rant.
You are spot on. He’s appropriating because he saw a photo of himself making that fist and thought he looked cooler than Put-ler. But even in recent outbursts, I’ve seen him very distinctly making his little white power circle, which he also thinks makes him cool. It’s a dangerous dog whistle to the many people he has persuaded to just go ahead and let go of their human courtesy, let that racism shine. He’s unleashed a whole lot of shameful behavior in people. Most of them, though, were already racist and filled with hate, so it wasn’t hard.
Like on my favorite show, What We Do in the Shadows, Trump is an energy vampire. ANY attention, even in court accusing him of crimes, he feeds off of. His true punishment is solitary confinement. In jail.
I agree. The only way to punish Trump is to quit airing his messy dramas on the major news channels. Just do a quick briefing on his legal troubles and end it.
I wish there could be a total blackout of this man. He lives to create turmoil. I think of how much worse things were when he was still on Twitter…every damn day tweeting out irrational statements and making wild claims. He caused the National blood pressure to rise and seemed to enjoy doing it.
This is Theater for Dummies. If Trump can make a case that he’s been wronged again, millions and millions of dollars will continue to flow right to his personal slush fund. Hand gestures, face-making, pleading the Fifth, statements about “my beautiful home,” etc are fund raising tactics, period. The tragedy is ordinary citizens are at risk from his followers who promise violence while he collects millions.
Shoesaholic, yes to everything you said. Everything is a fund-raising opportunity for him. This bloated Nazi truly shows how delicate democracy is and that a good part of a populace can become deranged by a “charismatic” demagogue.