Donald Trump set to testify in his own $250 million civil fraud trial

When Donald Trump enters courtroom on Monday, the previous president will change his chair subsequent to his legal professionals for a seat at the witness stand — sitting to the left of a pass judgement on he has referred to as a wacko, ft from a clerk he has referred to as biased, and without delay throughout from a state legal professional basic he has referred to as, with out proof, a filthy cop.

After greater than a month of observing from the sidelines, Trump is set to be the big name witness in his own $250 million civil fraud trial.

Sources inform ABC News that Trump spent Sunday night time in New York doing a prep consultation with his lawyers forward of his testimony Monday. The assets described Trump as vacillating between suits of anger over the case and “in a good head space,” able to get his testimony over with — with one supply announcing the previous president “can be a good witness if he stays focused.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to name Trump because the state’s second-to-last witness, putting in place a dramatic war of words in a case that would threaten the previous president’s industry empire.

“Trump can try to hide his wrongdoings behind taunts and threats, but we will not be bullied out of uncovering the truth,” James mentioned on social media Sunday.

Sources inform ABC News that when it is the protection’s flip to provide its case, a few of individuals of the Trump circle of relatives may go back to the stand, together with the previous president himself.

James alleges that Trump and his grownup sons depended on false statements of monetary situation to habits a decade of industrial, enriching themselves via higher mortgage phrases, favorable insurance coverage insurance policies, and a name strengthened through Trump’s reputed top web price. In order to handle that recognition, Trump suggested his executives to falsify information to inflate the price of his namesake structures and different property, in accordance to James.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has referred to as James a “dirty cop” whose case is a type of “election interference.”

The pass judgement on overseeing the case has been in part satisfied through the state’s arguments, discovering in a partial abstract judgment at the eve of the trial that Trump and his grownup sons are responsible for the use of “false and misleading” statements to habits industry — leaving the trial to decide further movements and what penalty, if any, the defendants must obtain.

Trump has appealed that ruling and criticized each James and Judge Arthur Engoron as politically motivated.

Trump returns to the stand

When Trump is sworn in forward of his testimony Monday morning, it’s going to be the second one time he has taken the stand in this example.

During a court seek advice from two weeks in the past to watch the testimony of his former legal professional Michael Cohen, Trump was once abruptly summoned to the witness stand to face questions from Judge Engoron a couple of observation Trump made that the pass judgement on believed was once directed at his clerk and thus violated a restricted gag order the pass judgement on has imposed prohibiting all events from making public feedback about his group of workers.

“This judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump mentioned in the court hallway that morning. While Trump maintained he was once referring to Michael Cohen — who sat subsequent to the pass judgement on at the witness stand — Engoron was once unconvinced and determined to in my opinion query the previous president.

Trump gave the impression unfazed and relaxed in the witness field, providing typically terse solutions — however took one transparent jab on the pass judgement on’s clerk.

“I think she is very biased against us. I think we made that clear. We put up a picture and you didn’t want that up,” Trump mentioned at the witness stand, referring to his social media post that precipitated the preliminary gag order.

The pass judgement on in the long run discovered that Trump’s testimony was once “not credible,” writing in a call that the previous president’s testimony rang “hollow and untrue.” He additionally fined Trump $10,000 for the observation.

Trump additionally sat for 2 depositions with the legal professional basic’s place of job all through the process the AG’s probe in 2022 and 2023.

During the primary deposition, in August 2022 — sooner than James filed her lawsuit — the previous president invoked his Fifth Amendment rights over 400 instances.

Trump took a special manner all through his moment deposition in April 2023, providing long solutions, talking over his legal professionals, and pontificating on unrelated subjects corresponding to how he avoided a “nuclear holocaust” as president, in accordance to a transcript of the deposition that was once therefore launched through the AG’s place of job.

“Chris, we’re going to be here until midnight if your client answers every question with an eight-minute speech,” state legal professional Kevin Wallace, who can also be wondering Trump in courtroom, mentioned to Trump’s legal professional.

Often volunteering extra information than required, Trump argued that his emblem price was once most probably price $10 billion and complained about how his presidency and next investigations soured banks’ impact of him.

He spoke in superlatives about his holdings, announcing, “We have the Mona Lisa of properties.”

Trump underplayed the importance of his own monetary statements all through his deposition, arguing {that a} so-called “worthless” disclaimer incorporated in every observation of monetary situation — which warned lenders that the valuations required judgment and that they must do their own research — insulated him from legal responsibility.

“Many lawyers have come to me and said, ‘You have the greatest worthless clause I’ve ever seen,'” Trump mentioned.

In his pretrial ruling, Engoron expressed skepticism at Trump’s trust that the “worthless” disclaimers render the monetary statements insignificant.

“Defendants’ reliance on these ‘worthless’ disclaimers is worthless,” Engoron wrote.

Trump stated in his deposition that he would “look at” his annual monetary observation — which he mentioned contained “guesstimates” — however didn’t spend a lot time reviewing the record, which sits on the middle of the legal professional basic’s case.

“They would give me a statement. I would certainly look at it. But I had not a lot to do with it. I just didn’t consider it important because of the worthless clause,” Trump mentioned in his deposition.

Trump sons testify

Trump’s look at the witness stand follows 3 days of testimony from his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who in large part denied being concerned in the preparation of the monetary statements and feature denied all wrongdoing.

“Before even having a day in court I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do — wait for it — accounting,” Trump Jr. mentioned outdoor courtroom on Thursday.

Despite his greater involvement in his circle of relatives’s company as soon as his father become president in 2016, Eric Trump testified that he depended on mavens when certifying his father’s budget.

Eric Trump’s look at the stand additionally spurred protection recommend’s further grievance of Judge Engoron’s legislation clerk, who Trump’s lawyers referred to as biased and distracting due to the way in which she confers with the pass judgement on all through complaints.

“I do feel like truly that I’m fighting two adversaries,” Trump legal professional Chris Kise mentioned all through a heated change in regards to the clerk on Friday.

In reaction, Engoron — who advised lawyers “I have an absolute, unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk” — expanded the case’s restricted gag order to additionally duvet lawyers, barring Trump’s legal professionals from objecting to communications between him and his clerk.

Trump’s empire in peril?

Over the primary 5 weeks of the trial, the state’s witnesses have tried to insulate the previous president from the movements alleged in the legal professional basic’s criticism. His sons mentioned Trump’s monetary statements had been compiled through accountants and legal professionals, and his best deputies throughout the Trump Organization testified that Trump was once in large part uninvolved in their preparation.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former legal professional and self-described “fixer,” introduced the most powerful testimony towards the previous president.

“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen mentioned, despite the fact that he struggled to be offering particular main points or proof to end up that such conferences happened.

Trump’s legal professionals hammered at Cohen on cross-examination for 2 days, eliciting what they described as perjury and announcing that his credibility was once irreparably broken. Defense legal professional Clifford Robert unsuccessfully moved for a directed verdict after the testimony, arguing that “the government’s key witness has fallen flat on his face.”

Judge Engoron denied the movement, announcing that even with out Cohen’s testimony, “There’s enough evidence to fill this courtroom.”

Engoron will in the long run come to a decision what consequences, if any, Trump and his grownup sons will face. The pass judgement on has already canceled Trump’s industry certificate in New York — a penalty that has briefly been paused whilst Trump appeals. The New York legal professional basic has additionally requested that Engoron penalize Trump $250 million, bar him and his kids from main firms in New York, and save you Trump from buying business belongings or eliminating loans for 5 years.

Those consequences may now not most effective hit Trump’s checkbook, but additionally solid a shadow at the corporate and emblem that Trump has stated allowed him to ascend to the presidency.

“I became president because of the brand, OK?” Trump mentioned all through his deposition. “I became president. I think it’s the hottest brand in the world.”