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The press briefings of President Trump are known for their tense interactions with reporters. The president responds to questions from the White House press corps in a variety of ways. Kent Zimmermann, a legal analyst and former attorney, was asked to reveal courtroom tactics that lawyers would use in similar situations. One approach is to treat the president as a hostile witness and allow the attorney to ask questions that can steer the witness toward answers.

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Donald Trump may soon have to sit for a deposition in the New York attorney general's investigation.AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
  • Donald Trump has a decision to make on whether to testify or not.

  • The former president is facing criminal and civil investigations.

  • Trump has said that pleading the 5th Amendment suggests guilt, but experts say it is a smart move.

Donald Trump once claimed that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in New York City without repercussions.

Pleading the 5th is a matter of law and politics.

A Manhattan judge on Thursday ordered Donald Trump and two of his adult children to give depositions and turn over documents in connection with a civil inquiry into financial wrongdoing.

The legal team of Trump vowed to appeal. There is a chance that the former president will testify about his business at a time when he is facing both civil and criminal scrutiny.

The prospect of a deposition presents a dilemma for Trump as he teases another run for president.

Eric Trump invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination when he was questioned by the attorney general's office in 2020. Legal experts told Insider that taking the 5th was Trump's best move.

If the former Republican president invokes his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, the James office could use that against him.

Trump could sit for a deposition and not deal himself with that legal issue. The Manhattan district attorney's office is looking into whether Trump inflated the value of his assets to receive favorable loans, which could be used against him.

Randall Eliason, a former public corruption prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at George Washington University, said that any good criminal defense lawyer would advise his client to take the 5th because the same allegations are the subject of the criminal investigation. That would be a good thing to do as far as criminal exposure.

That is risky for the civil proceeding, because in the civil case that could be used to raise an inference against him.

The New York attorney general&s civil inquiry raises the threat of steep fines for Trump and his business, so pleading the 5th could be expensive. Legal experts said that Trump would avoid giving any fodder to the criminal investigation by taking the 5th.

That move carries the risk of causing significant damage to Trump's reputation, as he has said that pleading the 5th is for the mob and only for the guilty.

Someone with criminal exposure is not willing to testify. There are many reasons why high-profile cases are different. Jeffrey Bellin, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at William and Mary Law School, said there are calculations going on that aren't just legal calculations.

Bellin said that it is hard to win an election if you invoke the 5th Amendment because people will assume you did something wrong.

Trump weathered allegations of sexual and financial misconduct on the way to the presidency.

As president, he was involved in two impeachment trials, as well as campaign operation, inauguration committee, Washington hotel, and even mental health issues.

Since leaving the White House, Trump has continued to hold onto the Republican Party.

He predicted that if Trump takes the 5th, he will spin the move to supporters as one that he took at the instructions of his lawyers and in the face of prosecutors.

The base will love it.

If Trump runs again, it will be the latest test of his boast that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose voters.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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