Trump Unbound, Former President Takes the Stand
In a fiery court hearing, former President Donald Trump stunned a New York courtroom when he took the stand in a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit brought against him by the New York Attorney General Letitia James. This is the first time Trump has testified in one of his ongoing legal cases, and it was not without controversy.
Trump, who has been a vocal critic of both James and the judge overseeing the trial, Arthur Engoron, wasted no time in making his opinions known. In a tense exchange, Engoron rebuked Trump for going off-topic and reminded his lawyers to keep their client in line.
But the real fireworks came as Trump took the stand and began to criticize the trial as "unfair."
At one point, an irritated Judge Arthur Engoron told an attorney for the former president: “I beseech you to control him, if you can. If you can’t, I will.”
Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise said he thought the court “should grant the former president of the US . . . a little latitude to explain himself”. Trump, meanwhile, shook his head and declared: “This is a very unfair trial. I hope the public is watching.”
His testimony also revealed that the former president had played a more hands-on role in the valuation of his properties than he had previously claimed. Trump admitted to giving suggestions and lowering the value of one property because he believed was too high.
Trump also attempted to downplay the importance of the financial statements at the center of the lawsuit, claiming that bankers paid little attention to them and promising to bring in bankers to testify on his behalf.
At one point, the judge went as far as to strike part of Trump's monologue from the record and admonished him for violating the gag order by attacking court staff on his social media account.
The real estate tycoon called Attorney General Letitia James a "political hack," accusing her of using "this case to become governor" and having used it to gain her current post.
Then Trump went after Engoron, pointing at the jurist and proclaiming, "Everybody's watching this case. He called me a fraud and he didn't know anything about me."
"The fraud is on the court and not on me," he continued to rant.
"When you rule Mar-A-Lago is worth $18 million and she rules it's worth $25 million, either people are very stupid or there's a fraud. The fraud is on behalf of the court."
But despite his bravado, Engoron repeatedly reminded Trump that this was not a political rally and his testimony needed to stay on track.
Trump's children, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have already testified in the trial, attempting to shift blame onto accountants for any discrepancies in the financial statements. Ivanka Trump is scheduled to testify on Wednesday.
In a case that differs from his other legal battles, this civil trial has the potential to banish Trump from the world of New York real estate and could come with a hefty financial penalty.
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The trial has been ongoing since October 2nd and has seen Trump make multiple appearances at the courthouse, often making statements that have resulted in fines for violating the gag order. It remains to be seen how this heated court hearing will impact the outcome of the civil fraud lawsuit against the former president.
Ahead of Trump taking the stand, Attorney General Letitia James said in a message on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning: “Donald Trump might lie, but the facts and the numbers don’t.”