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Former President Donald Trump departs Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general's office for a deposition in a civil investigation. Julia Nikhinson/AP hide caption

Former President Donald Trump departs Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general's office for a deposition in a civil investigation.

Donald Trump refused Wednesday to answer questions posed to him by the New York attorney general in her investigation into the former president's business dealings.

Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying in a later statement that "I once asked, 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?' 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."

So what is the Fifth Amendment and what rights does it protect?

The Fifth Amendment creates a number of individual rights for both civil and criminal legal proceedings. It states that a person only has to answer for their crimes when "on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury."

There are exceptions for cases held in military courts or for those actively serving in the military.

Additionally, a person cannot be called to stand as a witness against themselves in a criminal court case, cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offense and should not "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

The clauses of the amendment have different origins.

According to Congress, the concept of a grand jury comes from England and Athens, Greece. It is thought to first be mentioned in the Charter of Liberties and Privileges of 1683, passed by the New York General Assembly and established 12 counties, rules for elections and colonists' rights.

"Its adoption in our Constitution as the sole method for preferring charges in serious criminal cases shows the high place it held as an instrument of justice," James Madison wrote in a draft of the Bill of Rights.

The origins of the concept of double jeopardy are harder to track down, while the self-incrimination clause stems from the Latin phrase "nemo tenetur seipsum accusare," meaning "no man is bound to accuse himself."

Trump's former associates previously invoked their Fifth Amendments in investigations that spurred from their time as key players during his presidency.

Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn refused to hand over documents subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which was looking into Flynn's interactions with Russian officials as part of its probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump's longtime attorney, Michael Cohen used his Fifth Amendment right in a civil lawsuit filed by adult entertainer Stormy Daniels, which named Cohen as a defendant. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had an affair with Trump over a decade ago, and signed a confidentiality agreement with Cohen days before the 2016 election, in exchange for $130,000.

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What is the Fifth Amendment, and how has it been used? : NPR

A friend of George Floyd's who was with him when he was killed has again invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying in the upcoming trial of two ex-Minneapolis police officers who are charged with aiding and abetting Floyd's death.

In a motion filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court, public defender Adrienne Cousins wrote that Morries Lester Hall intends to invoke the Fifth if called to testify and asked the court to "quash the subpoena" calling on Hall to take the stand at the Oct. 24 trial of ex-officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao.

Hall invoked his right not to testify at the trial for ex-officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder. Chauvin received a 20-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights that he will serve concurrently with the 22 -year state sentence for Floyd's murder.

Hall's testimony could have revealed that Floyd used drugs before police arrived at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in May 2020, according to Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson, who tried to argue that Floyd died of a drug overdose.

As Chauvin pinned his knee into the back of Floyd's neck, Floyd called out to Hall, using his nickname, "I love you, Reese!"

Kueng and Thao face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. They each rejected a plea deal earlier this week that would have allowed them to avoid trial and additional prison time.

The two ex-officers could have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter and received three-year prison sentences to be served concurrently with their recent federal sentences. Kueng received three years and Thao received 3 years for violating Floyd's civil rights.

Thomas Lane, the third officer who responded to the report of Floyd using a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods on Chicago Avenue, was also convicted of depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights by failing to stop Chauvin from using excessive force. However, Lane pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter to avoid a trial.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's officer ruled that Floyd died of cardiac arrest, while Floyd's family attorney said he was asphyxiated. During the federal civil rights trial of the three former officers, a Denver toxicology expert testified that Floyd died of asphyxia because his airway was restricted by Chauvin's knee on his neck for more than nine minutes.

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George Floyd friend invoking Fifth Amendment right to avoid testifying in trial of two ex-cops - Star Tribune

Every parent knows that when little Johnny gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he points to his sister and cries, What about Susie? No fair! Parents are too smart to fall for the deflection, knowing that whataboutism is what children do to excuse the inexcusable.

However, Donald Trump and his enablers are more than happy to spew forth a bucketful of irrelevant whataboutisms as their excuse for the apparent theft of top secret White House documents in direct violation of the Presidential Records Act. Moreover, Republican politicians are more than happy to twist themselves into pretzels as they deflect from evidence found at Mar-a-Lago relevant to possible violations of the Espionage Act. The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance, goes the saying often attributed to Albert Einstein.

We all knew six years ago when Team Trump was meeting with Russians in Trump Tower to get dirt on Hillary Clinton that this day was coming. And when the indictments are issued, the childish protestations of witch hunt will fall on deaf ears as Donald Trump invokes the Fifth Amendment while caterwauling, What about Susie?

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Trump and his defenders try to excuse the inexcusable - cleveland.com

A day of hypocrisy and shame

Recently, in a New York legal deposition, Donald Trump pleaded the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer any questions about his business dealings in New York. For those of us who pay attention, we remember Trump saying in September 2016 that only guilty mobsters plead the Fifth under oath. At least he was truthful once!

Fortunately, in a civil case, Fifth Amendment responses can be used against him. Trump has seven current cases that he is fighting in and out of court right now, and he just had his personal residence searched in Florida because he will not turn over classified documents.

Much worse, hegets served with a legal warrant for stealing/mishandling classified material, and Republican politicians come out of the woodwork, encouraging him to run for president again. Go figure; these are the same Republicans who chastised Hillary Clinton for four years at a cost of $7.8 million for having a private email server. No charges were ever brought, but she did get beaten in the 2016 election. I say again, what is wrong with us? Our Founding Fathers are rolling over in their graves.

We have allowed Trump to lie, cheat and steal, and get away with it. The more he lies, the more his supporters love him. We know that millionaires and billionaires love him because of their tax breaks, but why do the lower classes revere him? Trump uses them like he uses everyone. It is not just the uneducated, the poor and the uninformed who support him. Many decent, reasonable people still support him.Ignorance is not an excuse. Get off of Fox News.

Im never one to spend a lot of time hoping and praying, but we had better start hoping that a large number of decent, old-school Republicans and independent voters vote Democratic in 2022 and 24.

After just finding out that Alex Jones lawyer accidentally sent 2,000 text messages to the lawyer for the Sandy Hook Elementary School decedents, and that the Jan. 6 commission now has them and probably the Department of Justice, my prayers may be answered. Jones, Trump and Roger Stone may be sharing a jail cell down the road.

Michael Perham, Clermont

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour for 13 years.

Prices are up. Corporate profits hit record highs. But the minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 since July 24, 2009.

Were deep into the longest period without a raise since the federal minimum wage was enacted in 1938 through the Fair Labor Standards Act, which aimed to eliminate labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being of workers and detrimental to fair competition among businesses.

Without a federal raise, millions of Americans will be left behind.

Holly Sklar, CEO, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage

Send a letter to the editor (up to 250 words) toletters@dailycommercial.com. Letters must include the writer's full name and city of residence.Guest columns of up to 750 words are also accepted on a limited basis.More information onsubmitting letters and columns can be found at dailycommercial.com/opinion.

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Today's letters: Readers comment on Trump and the minimum wage - Daily Commercial

Former President Trump has just shown why he is unfit for any public office. He does not know the difference between the illegal break in and burglary by the Watergate thieves and the FBI conducting a search based on credible evidence and a judges approval of the warrant previously approved by the director of the FBI and the Attorney General of the United States. Trump appointed that judge and the director of the FBI. How many times have we heard him say that only mobsters and the guilty plead the fifth amendment. He just plead the fifth 450 times in New York. It is certainly his right to do so, but he said only crooks plead the fifth. Lastly the classified information found in his residence is a crime. As a former Air Force officer responsible for handling, storage and safe keeping of classified information, had those documents been in my house I would have been in jail for a long time.

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

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Letter: Fraud in the White House | Letters to the Editor - Arizona Daily Star