Every American has the right to not incriminate themselves in court or in a deposition. According to the court documents for New York Attorney General Letitia James' probe of the Trump Organization, Eric Trump spent six hours doing exactly that.
Showing screen captures of the court documents, lawyer Luppe B. Luppen quoted a revealing piece in the filing that showed the middle Trump son fought against answering any questions asked about the Trump Organization, out of fear that it would incriminate him.
"Given the public litigation between Mr. Trump and DANY, the public reporting on the DANY investigation and the multiple disclosures from OAG, there is no risk that any witness, much less these Respondents, would appear for civil testimony without being aware of the possibility of criminal liability," said the court petition.
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
"In fact, as evidence of that knowledge, two Trump Organization witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination more than a year ago: Eric Trump and Allen Weisselberg," the documents continue.
"During his examination on Oct. 5, 2020, when asked a question that went beyond basic background information, Eric Trump delivered extended prepared remarks objecting to the investigation and invoking his right against self-incrimination," it disclosed.
The Fifth Amendment allows any person to refuse to answer a question to avoid accidentally confessing to a crime.
See the court excerpt below and the full case here.
“Eric Trump then invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to more than 500 questions over six hours.” pic.twitter.com/wWGKBY6RN3
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 19, 2022
