Former President Donald Trump said in a sworn deposition that he was too busy averting a “nuclear holocaust” with North Korea to commit alleged business fraud, according to a newly released transcript.
Trump sat for nearly a seven hour interview with the New York attorney general Letitia James’ office in April as part of the civil fraud case against him and his company.
Asked about how his role within the Trump Organization changed when he was elected president, Trump said his “role was gone.”
“So you were too busy for the company?” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for James’ office asked.
“In a way, yeah,” Trump responded. “Yeah, I think you can say it. It’s another way of saying it. I was very busy. I was — I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives.”
“I think you would have nuclear holocaust if I didn’t deal with North Korea. I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected,” Trump continued. “And I think you might have a nuclear war now if you want to know the truth.”
The testimony is part of James’ lawsuit against Trump, the Trump Organization and two of his children over alleged fraud, Insider reports.
According to the transcript, Trump said he had “virtually” no role in his company since his first run for president.
“My son Eric is much more involved with it than I am,” Trump said. “I’ve been doing other things. And I guess you could say on something major, whatever. But I’ve been much less involved in it than — over the last five years, five or six years than ever before.”
