Former US President Donald Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment Wednesday in a New York State civil investigation into his business and real estate dealings, choosing not to testify in an unusual move for the vocal politician.

Trump was scheduled for a deposition on August 10 in the civil case People of the State of New York v. The Trump Organization, led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The Attorney General is currently investigating potential fraud by the former president’s real estate company, including whether the company artificially inflated real estate assets for tax benefits.

Trump claimed that the litigation is politically motivated and that he pleaded the Fifth Amendment in order to protect himself, saying in a statement:

I once asked, “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt…you have no choice.

Trump later added “Under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.”

The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution states that an individual may not be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” In criminal cases, the refusal to self-incriminate cannot be held against a witness, but in civil cases, the jury may take it into consideration.

Trump was previously held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by James. An additional effort to resist the investigation was overruled by a state appeals court judge who ruled that James had the “clear right” to question him along with his children Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

As part of the same investigation, a state judge also held the real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a subpoena. The state Attorney General’s Office confirmed Friday the receipt of over 35,000 documents from the real estate firm, dissolving the contempt in court order against the firm once they were received.

The New York investigation is one of many currently ongoing against the former president, including the investigation of his allies for alleged fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia and the US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack’s examination of the President’s influence on the armed insurrection on the US Capitol. Most recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation gained entry into Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida residence, looking for evidence of official records requested by the National Archives and Records Administration.