NEW YORK (AP) Former President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney generals long-running civil investigation into his business dealings.

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 youre 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.

The questioning brought him face-to-face with an official he had called an out-of-control prosecutor and a racist. James, a Democrat, is the first Black person to hold her post.

James office declined to detail the interview, beyond saying that she personally took part in the deposition.