Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded the fifth when questioned over his business dealings in New York. AmeliaAdams9 9News DETAILS:
has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and declined to answer questions from the New York attorney-general at a scheduled deposition.
The Manhattan district attorney has a separate ongoing criminal investigation into the Trump Organisation. In January, James' office said it found "significant" evidence indicating the Trump Organisation used false or misleading asset valuations in its financial statements to obtain loans, insurance and tax benefits.
Trump Jr, who runs the Trump Organisation with his brother Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump did not assert their Fifth Amendment rights and answered the state's questions, the people said. In a 2007 deposition in a defamation lawsuit, Trump once said he calculated his net worth, to a degree, on his "feelings," and that he put the "best spin" on some of the assets.
In addition to Weisselberg, two others involved in the preparation of the financial statements, Jeff McConney, the Trump Organisation's controller, and Donald Bender, the real estate firm's external accountant, have both been interviewed by the attorney general's office and Manhattan district attorney.