CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig Defends Trump Taking the Fifth, Says Criminal Prosecution ‘Not a Ridiculous Fear for Him to Have’

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig defended former President Donald Trump pleading the Fifth Amendment during a deposition on Wednesday.

Trump was questioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in the civil probe of the Trump Organization’s business dealings and reporting of its tax returns before Trump became president.

Trump pleaded the Fifth, which protects against self-incrimination in legal cases, despite him saying in 2016, in reference to former Secretary of State and then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton allegedly mishandling classified information, “So there are five people taking the Fifth Amendment, like you see in the mob, right? You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”

In a statement on Wednesday announcing he took the Fifth, Trump acknowledged his 2016 statement and said:

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, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice. If there was any question in my mind, the raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, on Monday by the FBI, just two days prior to this deposition, wiped out any uncertainty.

Little is known about the circumstances of the raid. According to the New York Times, the search concerned classified documents that Trump took from the White House after he left office.

During Wednesday’s Inside Politics With John King, Honig called out Trump’s hypocrisy but defended Trump’s right to invoke the Fifth for fear of criminal prosecution.

First of all, the hypocrisy, of course, is jaw-dropping here. And it really is a moment of shame for Donald Trump and for the American presidency to have a former president who has to invoke the Fifth Amendment, but legally you’re absolutely right. This is Donald Trump’s right, he can take the Fifth Amendment the same as anyone else can.

Important to know, though, in a civil lawsuit in New York state, if somebody takes the fifth that
can actually be used against them. The jury can draw what is called an adverse inference, meaning the jury in, again, a civil case can sort of assume the worse what his testimony might have been. It cannot be used against him in any way in a criminal prosecution.

And I do think it’s worth noting here, John, Letitia James has politicized this investigation. She campaigned on ‘vote for me and I’ll nail Donald Trump. She has fundraised on it. So that’s not a ridiculous fear for him to have.

Watch above, via CNN.