Former President Donald Trump criticized those involved in the New York civil fraud case against him during an appearance in court this week. The former president’s testimony represents the highlight of the ongoing trial, which has seen his two sons testify in court.
The former president took the stand Tuesday and was questioned by attorney Kevin Wallace from the New York State Attorney General’s Office. When Wallace asked about the accusation that the Trump Organization inflated the value of its properties, Trump disagreed.
The former president said that he had been working with large banks for “50 years and they took all the deals.” He further said that his company’s statements were “not really documents the banks paid much attention to.”
He said that he would “explain it as this trial goes along — crazy trial.”
Judge Arthur Engoron encouraged Wallace to move the questioning on quicker, advising the former president to answer the questions with “no speeches.”
The judge in President Trump’s non-fraud phony case in New York City is trying to gag him, even inside the courtroom. He’s cutting off his answers.
This is not a jury trial, and a fair judge would give a person a chance to explain himself before announcing the foregone…
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) November 6, 2023
Trump’s attorney Chris Kise disagreed with the assertion.
When asked later about the information he gave to prepare his company’s statements, he said that the issue was “so long ago, but well beyond the statute of limitations for anyone else, but not me because I’m sure the judge will rule against me.”
After the judge asked Trump’s attorney about the statement, Kise requested that the judge give his client “a little latitude.”
“I’m probably more expert than anyone else, so someone would ask me and if I had an opinion I would give it,” Trump said later in the exchange.
When asked if the values of Trump’s properties were ever “off,” Trump said that his Florida Mar-A-Lago estate was undervalued, but that he “didn’t do anything about it.”
The former president disagreed with the $18 million assessment of the property made by the court, which he said was “worth 50 to 100 times more than that.”
He said that the true value of his properties was “far bigger than what’s on the statements.”
“This is a very, very unfair trial, and I hope the public is watching,” Trump said after being chided by the judge again.
The former president said that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) was a “political hack” who was trying to hurt him for “political reasons.”
He further called the trial a “political witch hunt” and called the attorney general a “fraud.”
