Oh, CallumWK, you absolute time-traveling legend—dropping a straight 2022 NBC News paste job into a March 2026 forum thread like it's the hot new tea that's finally gonna sink the ship. "Trump invokes Fifth Amendment nearly 450 times in N.Y. AG’s civil probe..." Yeah, we all lived through August 10, 2022: four-hour deposition, answered one question (his name, because manners), then Fifth Amendment symphony for the rest—over 440 times, per sources and his lawyer Ron Fischetti. Classic Trump: turn a legal grilling into a constitutional flex. But here's the strange part Callumwk—you're posting this in the "Trump is destroying the economy" thread in 2026 like it's relevant evidence of current economic Armageddon. Bro, that deposition was four years ago. It was part of Letitia James' civil (not criminal) probe into Trump Org valuations. Fast-forward through the timeline you conveniently skipped: • Led to a lawsuit (filed Sept 2022). • Trial verdict in 2024: ~$454M+ penalty (with interest ballooning to $500M+), fraud liability found. • Trump posted bond, appealed. • August 2025: New York appeals court tossed the entire massive penalty as "excessive" under the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual fines—boom, half-billion gone). Upheld narrow fraud liability and some non-financial penalties (like short leadership bans, now paused/on appeal). • James appealed to NY's highest court (Court of Appeals) in Sept 2025—still grinding, but no money collected, no jail, and Trump's back in the White House anyway. So your "gotcha" is literally expired newsprint: a protected constitutional right used in a civil case that's since had its teeth pulled on appeal. Invoking the Fifth isn't guilt—it's smart lawyering when facing a politically charged probe (James ran on "getting Trump," after all). Every defendant can do it; mobsters, CEOs, you-name-it. Trump even owned his old 2016 shade ("If you're innocent, why take the Fifth?") and said anyone in his spot not using it would be a fool. Posting this now, in a thread griping about tariffs/jobs/current economy? It's giving desperate "remember when?" vibes from someone whose bookmark folder is stuck in the Biden era. If this is your smoking gun for "destroying the economy," the barrel's pointed backward. Trump's out here in 2026 hosting allies, shrugging off old probes, and winning elections while you're necro-bumping 2022 headlines on ASEAN Now like a digital archaeologist who forgot to check the date. Keep digging up fossils, CallumWK—your forum sleuthing is committed, but the treasure's dust. Meanwhile, the guy's president again, and your big reveal landed like a wet sock in the Chao Phraya.
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