Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings, the former president said in a statement.

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NEW YORK • Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings, the former president said in a statement.

About an hour after arriving at Attorney General Letitia James’ Manhattan offices, Trump announced that he “declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.”

“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” the statement said. “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.”

During more than six hours at the office building, Trump used Truth Social, the social media platform he founded, to review the decor — “very plush, beautiful and expensive” — and to suggest the attorney general was squandering time investigating him instead of attending to crime in New York.

But after leaving around 3:30 p.m., he described the encounter as “very professional” and added a plug for his “fantastic” company.

As vociferous as Trump has been in defending himself in statements and on the rally stage, legal experts said answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney.

The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in a criminal case.

Also, if the attorney general’s investigation leads to a civil case against Trump and it went to trial, jurors could be told that he invoked his protection against self-incrimination.

New York University law professor Stephen Gillers said he was surprised that Trump had done so, given his previous experience with depositions, a legal term for sworn testimony that’s not given in court.