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"Verging on a confession": Legal experts say Trump "admitting to more fraud" in word-salad testimony

Former prosecutor warns result of trial will be "disastrous for Trump"

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published November 6, 2023 2:28PM (EST)

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom with attorneys Christopher Kise (L) and Alina Habba during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on November 06, 2023 in New York City. (Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom with attorneys Christopher Kise (L) and Alina Habba during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on November 06, 2023 in New York City. (Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
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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.

Related

"Control your client": Judge calls out Trump lawyers and threatens to shut down testimony

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.

Related

"Astonishing": Experts say Trump meltdown shows why lawyers won't let him testify at criminal trials

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." 

"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.

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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. 

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.


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"Yes, on occasion. Both high and low,” Faulders noted Trump to have said. 

"Again, admitting to lies," Moss wrote.

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."

Read more

about the Trump fraud trial

  • "I can't imagine having a client like this": Expert warns Trump likely to "perjure himself" at trial
  • “Absolutely untrue”: Judge shames Trump lawyer for using Breitbart article to attack clerk in court
  • “Crazy thing to say to a judge”: Experts stunned after judge explodes at Trump lawyer’s “misogyny”
  • Analyst on Don Jr.'s "stunning" testimony: "I cannot overstate how damaging these admissions are"
  • Legal experts: NY AG “set up” Don Jr. on witness stand — and now he could be criminally prosecuted

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Gabriella Ferrigine is a former staff writer at Salon. Originally from the Jersey Shore, she moved to New York City in 2016 to attend Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in American Studies. Formerly a staff writer at NowThis News, she has an M.A. in Magazine Journalism from NYU and was previously a news fellow at Salon.

MORE FROM Gabriella Ferrigine


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Aggregate Arthur Engoron Chris Kise Donald Trump Kevin Wallace Letitia James Politics

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