Donald Trump , for once, chooses silence . The former American president questioned by New York prosecutor Letitia James in an investigation into the Trump Organization has invoked the fifth amendment to the US Constitution and has exercised the right not to answer.
A surprise choice , in the past blatantly criticized by the tycoon himself in an electoral debate against Hillary Clinton when he called it "the amendment of the mafia", a choice that could even prove to be a boomerang in view of his presidential candidacy in 2024 but which indicates how Trump , a few days after the FBI raid his residence in Florida, preferred the path of caution.
"I refused to answer questions based on the rights that are granted to every citizen by the US Constitution," the former president said in a statement posted on his social media Truth about an hour after his arrival at the New York prosecutor's office. . "I was once asked, 'If you are innocent why invoke the Fifth Amendment?' Now I know the answer. When your family, your society and all the people in your orbit become the target of an unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt , you have no other choice, "insisted Trump, who has been portraying himself as the victim for days. of a corrupt system monopolized by the "radicals of the left".
"If I had any doubts about it, these were wiped out by the FBI raid two days before the deposition. I have no other choice because the current administration and many prosecutors in this country have lost their moral and ethical decency," he thundered. .
Then the personal attack on the prosecutor James , complete with propaganda videos on the tycoon's social network, accused of being " racist " and of having created a "political platform" to prosecute him. "Every day there are people being killed in New York and she spends her time trying to catch Trump."
THE INVESTIGATIONS - James's investigation began in March 2019 with the aim of establishing whether the former president has inflated the value of his real estate empire, his golf clubs and his hotels to obtain better financial conditions. It is a civil investigation and therefore cannot lead to any criminal prosecution. However, and this is probably why Trump has exercised his right to remain silent, the Manhattan District Attorney is conducting a parallel criminal investigation into the same matters and any misstep by the tycoon could determine the outcome. Of course, the choice of silence could raise the doubt among supporters that the former president has something to hide. Trump knows this and so, even on the day dedicated to his deposition in New York, he did not miss the opportunity to raise the level of the rhetoric on the federal raid in Mar-a-Lago. "Let's hope they haven't planted any evidence," the tycoon insinuated, continuing to fuel the narrative of the conspiracy against him.
THE FLORIDA RAID - FBI banned staff and lawyers "from approaching and witnessing the raid on Mar-Lago. Everyone was asked to leave the property. The agents wanted to be alone without any witnesses to see what they were doing. , taking or, hopefully not, placing evidence ", he pressed. "Why did they insist on not wanting anyone? There has never been a raid for Obama or Clinton despite the big disputes they had."
Meanwhile, new details emerge on the feds' blitz in Florida. For nine and a half hours, from 9am to 6.30pm, 30 agents searched the private area of Mar-a-Lago, searched Melania's closet and spent hours in Trump's office. A search, by now seems to have been established, aimed at finding papers and documents that the former president would have illegally taken away from the White House.
And about the threats received from Trump supporters after the search of the former US president's residence, the FBI director said he was " worried ".
(Unioneonline / vl)
