Full Breakdown
Trump’s Fifth Amendment Invocations in a 2022 Civil Fraud Deposition
8/1/2026, 12:35:17 AM
Core Event
In a deposition taken for the New York attorney general’s 2022 civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, the record indicates that Trump repeatedly refused to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right. A judge’s November 2022 order noted that Trump invoked the privilege “more than 400 times” during the session. Trump’s legal team did not publicly dispute the judge’s statement.
Background
The lawsuit, filed by the New York attorney general’s office, seeks to examine the Trump Organization’s property valuations and financial statements. During the hours-long deposition, Trump read a prepared statement asserting that anyone in his position who did not take the Fifth Amendment would be “a fool.” The deposition was partially released as a 30-minute video, and a limited transcript covered only a portion of the questioning.
Reported Numbers and Source Discrepancies
Credible news outlets cited the judge’s filing: NBC News reported “more than 440” invocations, while The Washington Post and The New York Times each reported “more than 400.” The portion of the transcript that was released shows Trump invoking the Fifth Amendment over 80 times. Because the full transcript and video have not been made public, the exact total cannot be independently confirmed.
Official Responses and Limitations
Snopes, the fact-checking organization reviewing the claim, states that it could not access the complete deposition record and therefore cannot verify the precise count. The New York attorney general’s office has not released the full transcript, and Snopes’ inquiries for confirmation have not been answered. Consequently, the claim remains an attributed statement from the judge and secondary news reports, not an established fact.
Assessment of Evidence
The available evidence supports the assertion that Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment hundreds of times, with multiple outlets attributing the figure to the judge’s filing. However, the lack of a complete, publicly available record prevents definitive verification of the “over 400” count. The claim should be understood as an attributed estimate rather than a confirmed tally.
