In 2016 Trump said “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth A

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In 2016 Donald Trump said “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” With this in mind, consider the high-profile figures from Team Trump who’ve pleaded the Fifth recently: Eric Trump, in this same civil case, reportedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to more than 500 questions. John Eastman, a Republican lawyer who allegedly played a leading role in the overall coup scheme, reportedly pleaded the Fifth with the Jan. 6 committee — by some accounts, roughly 100 times. Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser and GOP operative, said two weeks later that he also pleaded the Fifth. Alex Jones, by his own admission, pleaded the Fifth nearly 100 times when the professional conspiracy theorist sat down with congressional investigators. Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official, also pleaded the Fifth, reportedly more than 100 times. Michael Flynn, the beneficiary of a Trump pardon despite having previously pled guilty to felonies, pleaded the Fifth in response to investigators’ questions in March. And today, the former president joined the club. To be sure, the issue here is civil litigation, not criminal charges, which may seem to lower the stakes. That said, let’s not forget that Trump’s earlier civil cases were hardly irrelevant: His fake “university” and fraudulent charity, for example, were brought down as a result of civil litigation.