welcome to the lead. i m dana bash in for jake tapper. we begin with our politics lead. donald trump today invoked his fifth amendment right in a deposition with a new york attorney general who is investigating the trump organization s finances. this deposition lasting more than five hours. in a lengthy statement, the former president claims he had no choice, saying he s the target of an unfounded politically motivated witch hunt. this from the man who once asked if you re innocent, why are you taking the fifth? this is one of at least seven criminal, sifcivil, and congressional investigations trump is facing. that includes the probe that led to the fbi search at his mar-a-lago home on monday. that was died to the doj s investigation into the handling of classified documents cnn s sara murray has more on today s derailed deposition against the backdrop of the extraordinary legal jeopardy trump faces. what s your message to your supporters? as donald trump s legal woes
iranian assassination plot in addition to former national security adviser john bolton. stand by for new details on federal charges against an iranian operative. later, i ll have a one-on-one interview with ambassador bolton. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. former president trump departed the new york attorney general s office just a little while ago, after he invoked the fifth amendment in a deposition in the probe of his business dealings. cnn s senior washington correspondent pamela brown is joining us with the late breaking developments. this follows the unprecedented fbi search of trump s florida home. yeah, what a week it has been for the former president, donald trump. he asserted his fifth amendment constitutional right today. he says in part because of the search on his home on monday by the fbi. and tonight, we re learning new details about why the fbi took that extraordinar
letitia james took part in the deposition. cnn political reporter sara murray has more on all these developments. she s got new details on the fbi search of trump s florida home as well. reporter: donald trump wrapping up his appearance after nearly six hours at a new york deposition where he pleaded the fifth. which the former president once said was a move for mobsters. the mob takes the fifth. if you re innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment? reporter: today trump changed his tune in a deposition led by letitia james office. part of a three-year civil probe into whether the trump organization misled lenders, insurers and tax authorities by providing false financial statements. for years they ve been going after my company. i once asked if you re innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment, trump said in a statement. now i know the answer to that question. he claimed everyone in his orbit was a target, adding if there was any question in my mind, t
question, should a person s non-violent attendance at the january 6th save america march have any impact on their employment? i m michael smerconish in philadelphia, and that is this week s poll question at smerconish.com. many who participated on the storming of the capitol on january 6th have been charged and may still be. scrutinizing former president donald trump. but i want to update a different story about that day. one of a middle schoolteacher who on thursday night was just fired by his school board tracing back to his attendance on january the 6th, despite his never being anywhere near the capitol. kind of ironic that the pennsylvania teacher is now out of his job while the current republican nominee for pennsylvania charted puss to transport people to attend. jason mother head at the robb middle school in allentown, pennsylvania. he attended the rally and posted about it on social media, but did not participate in anything beyond that. he was suspended with pay
ukraine s first lady in a speech to congress detailing the suffering caused by russia s invasion and causing for more aid to defeat the enemy. translator: you help us and your help is very strong while russia kills, america saves. i appeal to all of you on behalf of those who were killed, on behalf of those people who lost their arms and legs. i am asking for weapons. weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else s land but to protect one s home and the right to wake up alive in that home. the comments follow new revelations from the white house that putin s army is planning to tighten its grip over eastern ukraine by annexing the donbas region and the territories surrounding the crimean peninsula, fortifying their position away from the port city of odesa. at the start of the year, russia told the world it was not planning to invade ukraine. now we are expected to believe that they re not going to plan to annex ukrainian territory. annexation by force w