BBC online :
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said he will invoke his constitutional right to remain silent in a civil case brought by adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
It is part of an effort to delay the suit brought by Ms Daniels, who says she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006.
She is seeking to end a non-disclosure deal signed over the matter.
Mr Cohen argues any statement he makes in court could affect a criminal inquiry into his business affairs.
Lawyers for Mr Cohen and Mr Trump have asked for the Daniels case to be put on hold in Los Angeles for 90 days. As part of that investigation, the FBI raided his offices for information, including on the non-disclosure agreement Ms Daniels signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
On Thursday, Mr Trump told Fox News his lawyer is “a good guy”, but only one among his “many, many attorneys”. “He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal,” he said.
“I don’t know his business, but this doesn’t have to do with me.
“He’s got a business. He also practises law.
“I would say probably the big thing is his business. And they’re looking at something having to do with his business. “I have nothing to do with with his business”, he continued.
The Fifth Amendment to the US constitution states that no individual can be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”.
Invoking the amendment means Mr Cohen will not have to reveal sensitive information in the wider investigation into his affairs.
A lawyer for Ms Daniels, Michael Avenatti, described Mr Cohen’s move as a “stunning development”.
It was famously used in the 1950s by many of those forced to appear before Senator Joseph McCarthy’s committee investigating communist activities.
The best-known example was the “Hollywood 10” – a group of screenwriters and directors who, when accused of being members of the Communist Party, used it in protest at what they perceived as Mr McCarthy’s bullying. The committee decided their actions were illegal and jailed them for contempt.
During the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan admitted the US had secretly sold arms to Iran and siphoned off the profits to fund “contra” rebels trying to overthrow Nicaragua’s socialist government.
One figure to emerge was Lt Col Oliver North, who repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about his involvement in the affair. He was given a three-year suspended sentence, but was later pardoned.
The Fifth also played a role in one of America’s most notorious murder trials, when Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman, a key prosecution witness in the OJ Simpson trial, controversially used it after tapes showing him using racist language were played by the media.
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said he will invoke his constitutional right to remain silent in a civil case brought by adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
It is part of an effort to delay the suit brought by Ms Daniels, who says she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006.
She is seeking to end a non-disclosure deal signed over the matter.
Mr Cohen argues any statement he makes in court could affect a criminal inquiry into his business affairs.
Lawyers for Mr Cohen and Mr Trump have asked for the Daniels case to be put on hold in Los Angeles for 90 days. As part of that investigation, the FBI raided his offices for information, including on the non-disclosure agreement Ms Daniels signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
On Thursday, Mr Trump told Fox News his lawyer is “a good guy”, but only one among his “many, many attorneys”. “He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal,” he said.
“I don’t know his business, but this doesn’t have to do with me.
“He’s got a business. He also practises law.
“I would say probably the big thing is his business. And they’re looking at something having to do with his business. “I have nothing to do with with his business”, he continued.
The Fifth Amendment to the US constitution states that no individual can be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”.
Invoking the amendment means Mr Cohen will not have to reveal sensitive information in the wider investigation into his affairs.
A lawyer for Ms Daniels, Michael Avenatti, described Mr Cohen’s move as a “stunning development”.
It was famously used in the 1950s by many of those forced to appear before Senator Joseph McCarthy’s committee investigating communist activities.
The best-known example was the “Hollywood 10” – a group of screenwriters and directors who, when accused of being members of the Communist Party, used it in protest at what they perceived as Mr McCarthy’s bullying. The committee decided their actions were illegal and jailed them for contempt.
During the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan admitted the US had secretly sold arms to Iran and siphoned off the profits to fund “contra” rebels trying to overthrow Nicaragua’s socialist government.
One figure to emerge was Lt Col Oliver North, who repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about his involvement in the affair. He was given a three-year suspended sentence, but was later pardoned.
The Fifth also played a role in one of America’s most notorious murder trials, when Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman, a key prosecution witness in the OJ Simpson trial, controversially used it after tapes showing him using racist language were played by the media.
