Former President Donald Trump, testified for just over four hours regarding his knowledge of false financial statements submitted by the Trump Organization.
The testimony quickly took a sharp turn, characterized by heated exchanges between Trump, his attorneys, and New York Judge Arthur Engoron. In addition to accusing the state attorney general of being a political hack, Trump also claimed that the judge had ruled against him when the judge asked attorneys to restrain the former president from giving lengthy answers.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, was reminded by Engoron that his courtroom is not a political rally.
“I think this case is a disgrace,” Trump said during questioning, adding that he considered it election interference because he was being kept on the stand. “I think the statements of financial condition are very good and in some cases very conservative.”
Trump founded the Trump Organization, serving as its chairman, president, and founder. Among other things, the company’s holdings include a sizable real estate portfolio.
State Attorney General Letitia James has accused him of participating in a scheme between 2011 and 2021 that involved manipulating asset values to obtain better terms for banking, insurance, and business transactions. Donald Jr. and Eric, Trump’s two elder sons, are named as defendants in the case as well. According to Judge Engoron’s previous ruling, Trump is accountable for fraud.
After taking a break on Tuesday for Election Day, James’ legal team intends to call Ivanka Trump, who is not a defendant, to the stand as their final witness on Wednesday. They intend to close their case following that.
“Justice will prevail,” James said to reporters after Trump’s testimony Monday.
“We have already been victorious,” James added, noting that Engoron has ruledthat there was fraud and that Trump is liable.“Now we look forward to. . .the remaining counts in our action against Donald Trump and his repeated and consistent fraud against the citizens of the great state of New York.”
