Former President Donald Trump's testimony in his $250 million civil fraud case is quickly heading south, legal experts said Monday.
The lawsuit, which was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization of committing massive and persistent fraud in New York by repeatedly inflating his wealth by hundreds of millions of dollars to garner more favorable terms for loans and insurance policies while amassing his real estate portfolio. "At the end of the day the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don't lie," James said outside the courtroom on Monday.
Trump took the stand Monday at a hearing that was off to a shaky start, as he repeatedly butted heads with New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who lectured Trump for whining and veering off track in his responses.
"You can attack me, do whatever you want, but answer the question," the judge told Trump.
Engoron later grew frustrated with Trump's responses again.
"Mr. Kise, can you control your client?” Engoron asked one of Trump's attorneys. “This is not a political rally.”
Kise responded later: "You're in control of the courtroom, not me." Fellow MAGA attorney Alina Habba also defended the ex-president, adding that Engoron is here to "hear what he has to say."
"I'm not here to hear what he has to say. He's here to answer questions," Engoron replied.
MSNBC's Lisa Rubin reported from the court that Engoron was considering drawing a negative interference on any question Trump might ask if he continues to expel "word salad" from the stand.
"This is a very unfair trial," Trump complained. "Very very unfair and I hope the public is watching it."
Engoron, after listening to another speech in response to a yes-or-no question: “I beseech you to control him. If you can’t, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference.”
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) November 6, 2023
"Trump’s testimony thus far is verging on a confession by virtue of his inability to control himself, according to the judge," MSNBC legal writer Josh Rubin wrote.
During the beginning of his testimony, Trump lashed out at Kevin Wallace, the attorney general's counsel, telling him that "you" and other "Democrat" prosecutors were "all coming after me from 15 different sides," according to The Messenger. Later in the hearing, Wallace presented Trump with a deed stating that "the Club and Trump intend to forever extinguish their right to develop or use the Property for any purpose other than club use." Trump replied: "'Intend' doesn’t mean we will do it."
"Admitting to more fraud," tweeted attorney Bradley P. Moss, while quoting the back and forth.
Admitting to more fraud https://t.co/Se7KEgDBCE
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) November 6, 2023
Trump during his testimony reportedly conceded to the courtroom that he exaggerated the value of at least two properties in his statements of financial condition, per ABC's Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous. Faulders tweeted out Wallace's question regarding Trump's acknowledgment: “Did you ever think that the values were off in your Statement of Financial Condition?” state attorney Kevin Wallace reportedly asked.
"Yes, on occasion. Both high and low,” Faulders noted Trump to have said.
"Again, admitting to lies," Moss wrote.
Again, admitting to lies https://t.co/iNAioQAuxy
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) November 6, 2023
Engoron already determined Trump and his company are liable for fraud, with multiple witnesses having testified that financial organizations would have acted differently if they knew Trump’s financial statements were bogus.
"Donald Trump’s testimony today is not moving forward a purely legal strategy," argued former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti on X, formerly Twitter. "His legal team’s strategy was always defensive and focused on limiting liability elsewhere, which is why he took the Fifth hundreds of times in his deposition."
"His lawyers are going along with this to ingratiate themselves with Trump. It’s unethical and imprudent, but they’ve clearly picked their path already," Mariotti warned. "None of this will impact the result of the trial, which will be disastrous for Trump. The evidence can’t be ignored."
