Former US President Trump is rarely confused. But when asked about the shady business practices of his real estate empire, he said nothing. Silence can become a problem.
Former President Trump had already expressed his disdain for Chief Detective Letitia James prior to the poll. “Meet the racist New York attorney general for the greatest witch hunt in history,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social. The African American has a “very neat, beautiful, and expensive office,” while people are being murdered all over New York.”
But inside this office in the middle of Manhattan’s financial district, the 76-year-old was extraordinarily meek on Wednesday. He only said his name during an interrogation that lasted more than four hours under oath and then once claimed the Fifth Amendment. This provision allows suspects to refuse to testify if they might otherwise incriminate themselves. “Same answer,” Trump answered monotonously to each question, more than 400 times, according to the media.
Former President Donald Trump faces a lot of problems with the judiciary
According to legal experts, the silence of the political turmoil has good reasons: it is very easy for a billionaire to get entangled in contradictions with Bayan in the investigation of fraudulent business practices of his company empire, which lasted for three years. However, both politically and legally, refusal to testify may become a problem for the man. After all, he had stated in 2016: “Only the Mafia summons the Fifth Amendment.”
Trump is currently having problems with the judiciary everywhere. Only on Monday The FBI searched his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and, according to media reports, confiscated dozens of boxes. There is a risk of potential criminal action because the former president created classified classified documents from the White House after changing his position. On Tuesday, the FBI confiscated the mobile phone of Republican Representative Scott Perry. This is about Trump’s attempt to sabotage the correct determination of the election result by Congress.
Trump auditors have ended cooperation
In Manhattan, it is not the politician but the businessman Donald Trump who is the focus of the investigation. According to the findings of the Prosecutor’s Office, the billionaire and his aides are said to have miscalculated the value of golf clubs, hotels and other property, small or large, as needed. The losses in particular were filed with the tax office. With insurance companies and banks, cheap loans and terms are said to have been fraudulently obtained with exaggerated information. Trump’s long-running accounting firm Mazar has since ended working with him.
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Attorney General James is investigating a civil case. In contrast to criminal proceedings, refusal to testify can be viewed negatively as a form of admission of guilt. So observers believe Trump’s silence could help the prosecution. Renowned civil attorney and justice blogger Max Kinnerley analyzed, “Trump clearly considers the risk of criminal self-incrimination to be higher than the harm he would do by refusing to testify in civil proceedings.”
Trump once mocked Hillary Clinton this way
With Trump’s children already questioned — Eric Trump has refused to testify, and Ivanka and Donald Jr have allegedly spoken out — Democrat James must now decide whether to seek a process at the end of which could restrict the former president’s business activities, or whether she is negotiating a reconciliation of interests Usual in the US with a big fine.
It is unclear to what extent the measure will harm Trump politically. Possible manipulations in number will likely forgive him generously or even recognize him as a smart move. But Trump’s anxious silence belies the self-image of the unshakable man, who promotes himself at every opportunity. “Why invoke the Fifth Amendment when you are innocent?” He had been mocked a few years ago. It was about his rival, Hillary Clinton.