Trump testifies in New York civil fraud trial

Donald Trump brought bombastic rhetoric to the witness stand Monday in the civil fraud case against him and his business, as he spent his time on the stand attacking the New York attorney general who brought the case and the judge overseeing the trial itself.

Trump’s testimony at times mimicked his appearances on the campaign trail, where the former president has made the four criminal cases against him – along with the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case – a central part of his argument to be elected president again in 2024.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who has clashed with Trump throughout the trial, at first tried to stop the former president’s political barbs and speechifying, telling his lawyer Chris Kise to “control your client” and threatening to have Trump removed as a witness. Eventually, the judge stropped trying to control Trump – he and the attorney general’s lawyer questioning Trump let him rant, and then mostly disregarded the missives.

The high-stakes civil case strikes at the heart of Trump’s brand – his real estate empire. New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Trump for $250 million and seeking to bar him from doing business in the state. Engoron has already ruled Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud. The New York attorney general’s office said they will rest their case after Ivanka Trump’s testimony on Wednesday.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Trump’s day on the stand:

Keep reading takeaways here.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called Donald Trump’s actions and attacks against her and Judge Arthur Engoron on the stand “distractions.”

“At the end of the day, the documentary evidence demonstrated that, in fact, he falsely inflated his assets to basically enrich himself and his family,” James said.

“He continued to persistently engage in fraud. The numbers don’t lie, and Mr. Trump obviously can engage in all of these distractions, and that is exactly what he did, what he committed on the stand today, engaging in distractions, and engaging in name-calling,” she said.

“But I will not be bullied, I will not be harassed, this case will go on,” James said.

She said Trump on the stand “rambled, he hurled insults, but we expected that.”

The attorney general said her office looks forward to hearing Ivanka Trump’s testimony Wednesday and closing the case.

The New York attorney general’s office said they will rest their case after Ivanka Trump’s testimony.

Former President Donald Trump’s daughter is set to testify on Wednesday. There is no court Tuesday, due to Election Day. 

The attorney general’s office expects to finish the direct examination of Ivanka Trump by 2 or 3 p.m. ET in the afternoon Wednesday.

Trump attorney Chris Kise said if that’s the case, they’ll question her on cross-examination through Thursday morning.

Per protocol, the defense will make motions after the attorney general rests.

Judge Arthur Engoron told Trump’s attorneys they can plan to start the defense case on Monday.

Kise also told the court they’re on track to finish a week early by December 15.

Donald Trump said “I think it went very well” after the former president took the stand for nearly four hours Monday in the civil fraud trial brought by the New York attorney general against him and his company.

“I think you saw what I had to say today and it was very conclusive,” Trump told reporters as he exited the courtroom. “Everything we did was absolutely right.”

Trump also looked to place the case that he called a “scam” in the broader context of his campaign for president and attacked the attorney general’s case.

“But, anyway, this is a case that should have never been brought and it’s a case that should be immediately dismissed,” he said before leaving.

Donald Trump’s lawyers said they want to make a motion for a mistrial, getting into an extended debate with Judge Arthur Engoron about how they can raise the conduct of his clerk that’s subject to a gag order.

“We would at least need to reference the subject matter,” Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said.

Initially, Engoron told Trump’s lawyers they should not file such a motion that referenced his staff, saying he put the gag order in place to protect them.

“I am 1000% convinced that you don’t have any right or reason to complain about my confidential communications,” Engoron said.

Trump’s attorneys, who have complained about Engoron’s note-passing with his clerk, claim it’s a sign of the trial’s bias and have urged Engoron to reconsider.

Trump attorney Alina Habba told the judge, “Obviously are going to be moving for a mistrial, that is part of the plan.”

“We need to have an opportunity to be heard on those things that have not been yet heard,” Habba said.

After conferring with his clerk, Engoron changed course and said that Trump’s attorneys could file a motion, but he asked them to do it in writing.

Once they agreed on a course of action, Engoron joked, “See I knew it would be a love fest.”

Trump was sitting back in his chair at the defense table while the exchange was going on.

After a lengthy monologue from Donald Trump where he attacked the state of New York and said businesses are leaving because of cases “like his,” Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office calmly said to the former president, “I promise you Mr. Trump I’m trying to get you off the stand.”

“Great, I’m sure you are,” Trump replied.

Trump complained of “election interference” and a “very hostile judge,” referring to Judge Arthur Engoron.

Trump then said, “I don’t have a jury. And I want a jury,” he said.

Trump has complained about a lack of a jury throughout the trial.   

Experts have said his attorneys could have litigated a request for a jury ahead of the trial, although the chances that he would have gotten one were slim.

Former President Donald Trump has stepped down from the stand after nearly four hours of testimony in the civil fraud trial against him and his company.

The next witness will be his daughter Ivanka Trump on Wednesday, after which the attorney general’s office plans to rest its case.

Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said he believes the trial should end in mid-December.

When asked by the Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office whether he “maintained accurate books and records” from August 2014 going forward, Donald Trump said “I hope so.”

“I hope so, I didn’t keep them myself. I hope so,” Trump testified during his civil fraud trial Monday.

“You don’t know one way or the other?” Wallace asked.

During questioning from Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office, Donald Trump went on a rant about how his net worth is “significantly higher” than the financial statements reported and also complained about the disclaimer clause that “goes on forever.”

Wallace then quipped, “That clause isn’t the only thing that goes on forever” referencing Trumps long-winded answers that have been the highlight of his testimony today.

Wallace got a reaction out of Trump by asking him whether he considers brand value part of his assets that cover the $2.5 billion.

“The brand value is very substantial value. I didn’t even include that in the financial statements. I could have if I wanted to. If I was looking to build up the financial statement, I could put it in but I wasn’t looking to do that,” Trump replied.

Trump said as a total, some of his statements of financial condition are “much more.”

He complained the loan documents were “ancient history.”

“I don’t know how it doesn’t involve a statute of limitations,” Trump says.

Trump adds it “seems ridiculous to me, but that’s ok, that’s how it’s working with this one.”

As Donald Trump continues testifying about loan agreements between the Trump Organization and Deutsche Bank, the former president said “the net worth of me was far greater than the financial statements.”

The loan agreements required Trump to maintain a net worth of at least $2.5 billion. The attorney general’s office has said Trump inflated his net worth on the annual financial statements, but Trump says his net worth is much higher than his statements ever showed.

Trump said he doesn’t know “why you are doing this for a bank that’s very rich, very big” and has the “best lawyers in the world.”

“Well, I understand it,” Trump said. “It’s called politics,” he said, emphasizing the final word. 

Trump testified Monday afternoon that the loan for a Chicago property – Chicago International Hotel & Towers – “was paid off in full, with no default, with no problem and the bank was thrilled.” 

Trump said that the Chicago loan was “long since gone.”

“Are you aware that the Trump Chicago loan was paid off last week?” Assistant attorney general Kevin Wallace asked Trump.

“I don’t know last week, but I know recently. On time, on schedule,” Trump relied.

Americans are seeing how the next year in presidential politics will play out.

Donald Trump, the potential Republican nominee, spent his day creating histrionics in a courtroom as the legal system tried to hold him to account.

The current president was meanwhile was on the road – touting an issue that encapsulates his philosophy just as Trump’s challenge to the rule of law defines his own political persona. “Amtrak” Joe Biden touted a $16 billion investment by his administration in the creaking US railroad system. 

“I know how much it matters,” said Biden, who was long waxed lyrical over his commutes between Delaware and Washington as a senator. As if by magic, trains in the critical east corridor briefly ground to a halt on Monday due to a security issue – rather proving the president’s point.

The dueling schedules may well be a taste of things to come since Trump could spend much of next year attending one or more of his criminal trials.

Trump’s goal is to paint a picture of a legal system out to get him on the orders of a president he claims he is trying to persecute him. Biden on the other hand is trying to show Americans – particularly blue collar voters who are attracted to Trump, that he’s actually using power to directly make their lives better.

Or to put it another way, Trump is known for going off the rails while Biden is trying to build more of them.

“I truly believe this country’s about to take off,” Biden said Monday. “For the first time in a long time we’re bringing pride back.”

That’s not so dissimilar from Trump’s mantra “Make America Great Again.” But that’s about the only thing he and his successor – and possible predecessor — have in common.

Assistant attorney general Kevin Wallace walked Donald Trump through a number of loan agreements between the Trump Organization and Deutsche Bank.

Wallace asked Trump to acknowledge his signature on the documents and to confirm that the loan documents included requirements of annual financial statements and a minimum net worth of $2.5 billion.

Trump personally guaranteed all the loans with Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management group for these properties, which is why he was bound by liquidity and net worth requirements.

Wallace reviewed 2012 documents binding the Trump Organization’s loan for the Doral Golf Resort & Spa. 

Trump confirmed he personally guaranteed the loan.

Wallace then highlighted the loan covenant that required Trump as the personal guarantor to maintain $50 million in unencumbered liquidity.

Trump said he complied with that requirement. “Yeah, I had a lot of cash,” he said.

“They wanted to have cash,” Trump says of Deutsche Bank

“It goes up and down,” Trump said. “But I’ve had a lot of cash a long time.”

The loan agreement also required him to maintain a net worth of $2.5 billion.

“Do you believe that you complied with this loan?” Trump was asked by Wallace.

“Yes, I do,” Trump replied. 

Trump said that he would not have had a hard time meeting the $2.5 billion net worth requirement in the loan document.

“I could have given them just a few assets,” the former president said.

Trump also said he believes he complied with the loan requirement for another property in Chicago – Chicago International Hotel & Towers —maintaining $50 million in unencumbered cash and a $2.5 billion net worth.

“This loan was paid off in full, with no default, with no problem and the bank was thrilled. They got all their money back,” Trump said. “The bank liked me very much.”

The complaint alleges Trump defrauded the bank by providing fraudulent, inflated financial statements to obtain the loans and to maintain them in the years after the initial transaction.

During this questioning, Trump’s attorney Chris Kise made yet another objection about the statute of limitations, which was overruled. 

Trump smirked during one of those objections when Engoron said, “Overruled, it’s in evidence.”

Kise has made frequent objections about the statute of limitations today, which have all been overruled.

Donald Trump has returned to the courtroom and is back on the stand after a lunch break.

The former president did not comment as he reentered the courtroom, offering only a thumbs up.

Court is expected to end today at 4:30 p.m. ET.

After a contentious morning between Donald Trump and Judge Arthur Engoron in the New York civil fraud trial, the former president’s team is happy with the way he has handled his testimony so far and how it is unfolding, a source told CNN.

“He’s turning this into the Trump show,” the source said, describing what they see as the messaging success around today’s testimony. “That’s how he’s winning.”

Trump has already begun using the judge’s words to continue to paint this as election interference and politically motivated. In a post on Truth Social, the former president posted a quote from the judge over a picture of him.

“No, I’m not here to hear what [President Trump] has to say,” the quote reads. 

Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial has broken for lunch, and will resume at 2:15 p.m. ET with Trump back on the stand.

Trump exited the courtroom during the lunch break. He did not speak, only giving a double thumbs up.

The New York civil fraud trial against Donald Trump, his eldest sons, their companies and Trump Organization executives has continued Monday with testimony from the former president.

The civil trial about inflated assets in fraudulent financial statements started last month just after a shocking ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron at the end of September that found Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud.

Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion in three separate years between 2011 and 2021, according to the attorney general’s office. Attorneys for Trump have refuted the claims, arguing that asset valuations are highly subjective and that they are still sorting through what the ruling means for the company’s future.

What’s at stake at trial: Trump and his companies could be forced to pay hefty sums in damages for the profits they’ve allegedly garnered through their fraudulent business practices. 

Engoron will consider just how much the Trumps and their businesses will have to pay. 

Since Engoron has already ruled on one of the claims — persistent and repeated fraud —he will now decide on the six other claims:

The New York attorney general is seeking to bar Trump from doing business in the state and to dissolve his companies.

Engoron set aside more than three months for the trial, which could continue through late December.

Donald Trump testified that ultimately “everybody” within the Trump Organization is responsible for identifying internal fraud, following questions from New York’s assistant attorney general.

“I would say everybody,” Trump responded to questioning.

In the years before he became president of the United States, employees would bring issues to him or other management executives to be resolved.

He recalled instances where building managers may have been illegally renting apartments to pocket the money themselves.

When it came to the financial statements, he said he figured Mazars USA, the accounting firm that Trump and his businesses used, would flag any issues. “I would assume Mazars would come and recommend something and we’d amend that procedure,” Trump said.

Just prior to the lunch break, Kevin Wallace from the New York attorney general’s office told the former president, “We’ll get through this particular document much more quickly if you say, ‘I don’t know,” while questioning him about a document addressing the cash flow for one of Trump’s buildings that shows a financial loss.

Trump then responded, “I don’t know.”

The property in question was 40 Wall St., one of the properties that is part of the lawsuit.

Donald Trump said his financial statements would always hold up in court — “except maybe in this court” — because of the disclaimers that are added to the statements.

Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office asked Trump if he was aware of any other properties on the financial statements from 2011-2017 that were overstated.

Trump replied: “I don’t know of any, but not that would have a material effect. Anything that would be a little bit off would be nonmaterial.”

The former president then pointed to the disclaimers on the financial documents saying that “They always hold up in court, expect maybe in this court, they always hold up in court, always. It’s a disclaimer.”

“One of the reasons I never got too involved in these statements is that clause is on page one, as you know better than anybody,” Trump says. “And that’s why we shouldn’t be having a case here.”

Trump was animated during this reply, saying any court but this judge would hold up the disclaimers in court.

Judge Arthur Engoron was observed puffing his cheeks during this interaction.

“People don’t know how good a company I’ve built,” Trump said as he attacked Attorney General Letitia James for prosecuting him. “Because people like you go around trying to demean me and hurt me,” Trump said, adding he was being prosecuted “probably for political reasons — in her case definitely,” referring to James seated in the front row.

The complaint filed by James addressed disclaimers, stating while they may relieve accountants of certain obligations that would otherwise adhere to their work on a more rigorous audit engagement, they do not give license to Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization to submit to their accountants fraudulent and misleading asset valuations for inclusion in the statements.

The past 45 minutes or so of testimony went along mostly without a hitch, but the past few minutes has seen former President Donald Trump ramp up the political rhetoric.

“What’s going on here, how can a thing like this be going on? It’s disgraceful,” Trump said after being asked about the Mar-a-Lago property evaluation, turning his attention to New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump also criticized Judge Arthur Engoron again for the ruling that Trump committed fraud issued before the trial.

“He called me a fraud and he didn’t know anything about me,” Trump said, referencing the judge. 

“Read my opinion perhaps or for the first time,” the judge retorted.

“I think it’s fraudulent, the decision,” Trump said. “The fraud is on the court, not on me.”

After the rant, Assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace asked, “done?”
“Done,” Trump said.

More background: Before and during the trial, Trump has relentlessly attacked James for bringing the case against him. He’s also attacked the judge for being biased against him, and he’s attacked the judge’s law clerk for being biased.

Trump’s conduct at the trial has already been a flashpoint – he’s been fined twice for violating a gag order barring him from speaking about the judge’s staff.

As testimony began centering on the valuation of Donald Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland — Trump lobbed an answer that Judge Arthur Engoron audibly deemed “irrelevant” to the question.

The New York assistant attorney general asked Trump if the description in his 2014 financial statement was accurate for the property — which followed by Trump touting Aberdeen as a oil capitol making the property more valuable.

“Irrelevant, irrelevant, answer the question,” Engoron said speaking over Trump, one of the few times that’s happened since returning from the break.

Trump also used the opportunity to boast about the course.

“I think it’s the greatest golf course ever built,” Trump said. “It’s one of the greatest pieces of land I’ve ever seen.”

As Trump gave a long-winded answer about the beauty of the course, Engoron said he would be following the assistant attorney general’s lead: “If you want to let the witness ramble on, non responsive, repeat himself.”

The assistant attorney general was trying, unsuccessfully, to get Trump to acknowledge a discrepancy on the number of properties that could be built in Aberdeen.

“It’s sort of like a painting. You can do pretty much what you want to do. The land is there and you can do what you want to do,” Trump said.

Donald Trump returned from the break in his civil fraud trial to a smoother question-and-answer session, as Judge Arthur Engoron has not cut off the former president like he did in the first hour.  

Assistant attorney general Kevin Wallace has been continuing to question Trump about the values of his various properties and his role in their appraisals, including his triplex apartment in Trump Tower. 

Trump has still given several asides in his answer that were admonished by Engoron in the first hour, though the judge has mostly not stopped him since the break. “It’s much more valuable,” Trump said of Mar-a-Lago, “and we’ll show that in two weeks or five weeks or nine weeks or whenever this thing goes, that its biggest value is using it as a club.” 

Wallace ignored Trump’s response and continued with his questions, and Engoron also did not interject. Wallace showed Trump a 2003 article in which the former president told a reporter Mar-A-Lago will always be a club.  

“I think that was said with bravado, more than legal intent,” Trump said on the stand.  

When Engoron did cut off Trump, it’s been briefer. Wallace asked Trump if the description in his 2014 financial statement was accurate for his golf club in Aberdeen, Scotland. Trump began to say how Aberdeen is an oil capitol which makes it valuable. “Irrelevant, irrelevant – answer the question,” Engoron said, speaking over Trump. Trump still managed to sneak in digs at the civil fraud case against him. 

Wallace pressed Trump about why his Trump Tower apartment was reduced in value on his financial statement – it dropped from $327 million in 2016 to roughly $116.8 million in 2017 – which came after Forbes Magazine outed Trump in 2017 for claiming the apartment was more than 30,000 square feet when it turned out to be just under 11,000 square feet. Wallace asked Trump whether he was involved in the change. “Probably,” Trump said, before giving several possible explanations. 

He acknowledged there could have “been a mistake” but said that’s why his statements included disclaimer clauses. “There’s a disclaimer clause where you don’t have to get sued by the attorney general of New York,” Trump said. 

Donald Trump says he believes Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, is worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

“You believe that as of today Mar-a-Lago is worth $1.5 billion?” asked Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office. “I think between a billion and a billion-five,” Trump responded.

The valuation of Mar-a-Lago has been one of Trump’s complaints about the judge in the trial, after the judge cited a Florida tax appraisal of $18 million for the property in his decision finding Trump, his adult sons and his company committed “persistent and repeated” fraud.

Wallace asked Trump if he approved of valuing Mar-a-Lago as if it would be sold to an individual as a resident. “Did I approve it on this? I don’t know,” Trump said.

Trump replied, “I don’t remember that, no” when asked if he explicitly told former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg or former Trump Organization executive Jeff McConney to value the property that way.

Wallace confronted Trump with a 2002 deed of development rights that shows Trump deeded away his right to use the property as anything other than a social club.

Trump then gave a long aside about Mar-a-Lago when Wallace asked him about not being able to use it as anything but a social club.

“I don’t mind leaving it as a club. In fact, if somebody wanted it, smartest thing to do, have a club and have one member and that would be the member that lives in the club. But it’s much more valuable — and we’ll show that in two weeks or five weeks or nine weeks or whenever this thing goes — that its biggest value is using it as a club,” Trump said.

Wallace showed Trump a 2003 article in which the former president told a reporter Mar-A-Lago will always be a club.

“I think that was said with bravado more than legal intent,” Trump said on the stand.

Testimony has shifted to the contested valuation of the Trump Tower apartment, including its size — all part of the New York attorney general’s office claims that it was inflated in value.

Supporting data for a 2017 financial statement shows the property value on the triplex apartment dropped from $327 million in 2016, to roughly $116.8 million in 2017 — a significant drop around the time that Forbes Magazine outed Trump for claiming the apartment was more than 30,000 square feet when it turned out to be just under 11,000 square feet.

Under direct questioning, Trump was asked by the assistant attorney general on whether “this change in valuation” came at his direction.

“Probably, I said I thought it was too high,” Trump said. “I don’t know what’s too high anymore because I’m’ seeing things sold at numbers that are very high,” Trump added.

Trump said that the difference in cost could also be explained by the roof access, and then “it’s not that far off.” He also said they could have made a mistake and there’s a disclaimer clause for that reason.

“There’s a disclaimer clause where you don’t have to get sued by the attorney general of New York,” Trump said.

CNN Legal Analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo said that in order to avoid being goaded into making so-called “reversible errors,” Judge Arthur Engoron may have to let Donald Trump speak and “make the appropriate record if he does decide to sanction him.” 

Engoron has repeatedly told Trump not to make speeches during his testimony, and warned Trump’s attorney that the former president could be dismissed from the stand if he failed to answer questions. 

“I think the judge, because it’s a bench trial, has to give Trump a little bit of leeway to say what he wants to say, and really make him just hang himself, if you will. But, he has to let him speak at some level and he’s going to have to make a very strong record if he does not, to preserve it,” Agnifilo said on CNN during the testimony.

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00:56 - Source: cnn

Testimony at Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial resumed after a short, routine break — without issue so far — on the valuations of Trump assets, this time focusing on Seven Springs.

This time, the former president explained when he believed the valuation of his Seven Springs property was “high” — and further how his company did a conservation easement for tax benefit.

Assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace asked if Trump remembers when he lowered the value of Seven Springs on his financial statement. Trump gave a speech about looking at the statement saying he could probably get that kind of money from the right person.

But after a follow up question, Trump acknowledged, “I don’t remember” when it was lowered.

Trump confirmed that at one point the Trump Org. did a conservation easement for a tax benefit on the Seven Springs property. He said Sheri Dillon, a tax attorney who testified earlier at trial, handled that process.

Trump said he felt the $291 million value in his 2014 statement was high.

“Well, I thought it was high. When I saw it the statement was done,” Trump said and noted they later dropped the value.

Trump was then asked by Wallace: “Is the Seven Springs easement under review by the IRS?” 

“Not that I know,” Trump said.

Trump then was asked about the valuation of the two Vornado properties.

“Do you believe stated value here, $816 million, was based on true and accurate information?” Wallace asked.

“I think so. I hope so,” Trump said. “If you go to 2021, where it’s more familiar to me because it’s more updated, I think that would be a low number.”

Trump ultimately said he was not involved in his 2021 financial statements. “I don’t know that’s when it was in the trust,” Trump said, adding he assumed principals including former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg and ex-Trump Org. executive Jeff McConney dealt with that then.

Seven Springs property is in Westchester, New York. It’s one of the properties identified in the lawsuit that the Trumps are accused of inflating.

An hour into his testimony, Donald Trump’s commentary on the witness stand in his civil fraud trial has led to multiple admonishments from Judge Arthur Engoron, who has repeatedly told Trump not to make speeches and just answer questions. 

Trump has paid little attention to the judge’s instructions, continuing to give lengthy asides about the values of his properties and his perceived unfairness of the case.

Assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace, who is questioning Trump, has walked Trump through his financial statements from 2014, asking about his role in preparing the valuations of his properties.

Trump has been calm in his responses, but at the same time, he’s given lengthy speeches about the value of his brand and why his properties are worth more than what they were listed for on the statements.

Engoron has repeatedly grown frustrated at Trump’s answers, cutting him off and striking on response from the record.

“We are here to hear him answer questions and most of the time he’s not,” Engoron said.

Trump shook his head with pursed lips. Kise urged the judge to listen to Trump’s response, saying that what he has to say gets to the heart of the case.

“The court needs to hear what he has to say about these statements,” Kise said. “He’s describing to you about why there was no intent to mislead anyone with his answers. That’s what he’s doing.” 

“No, I’m not here to hear what he has to say. I’m here to hear him answer questions,” Engoron said in response, raising his voice and telling Trump’s lawyers to “sit down already.”

Trump then piped in before the questions continued: “This is a very unfair trial. Very, very and I hope the public is watching,” he said, leaning into the mic.

Wallace has tried to pin Trump down on his involvement in the preparation of his financial statements, which New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges were fraudulently used to obtain better loan rates – and the judge has already ruled constituted fraud.

Trump has given meandering answers in response.

“Well let’s see,” Trump said when he was asked about the valuation of his 40 Wall Street property on his 2014 financial statement.

Wallace pressed Trump to focus on the valuation of 40 Wall Street.

Trump eventually answered, “I assume so,” when asked if the 40 Wall Street valuation was based on true and accurate information.

In response to another question about his role preparing financial statements, Trump said: “I accepted it. Other people did it. But I didn’t say make it higher or make it lower.”

Judge Arthur Engoron is asking attorney Chris Kise to do something no one or no institution has ever been able to do.

“I beseech you to control him if you can,” Engoron said, after yet another complaint about former President Donald Trump’s jabs at the case against him and extended answers boasting about the quality of his buildings and his own business acumen.

The judge put his finger on the most critical issue surrounding Trump going forward. The rules of politics, the conventions of the presidency, the constitutional checks on executive power and even the verdict of voters who turfed him out of office could not control Trump, impose upon him or change his behavior.

But will the legal system in this case, and in four looming criminal trials encompassing more than 90 criminal charges be able to do so?

Trump’s political career and even future liberty could hang on the answer.

In court Monday, Trump will not allow himself to be dominated, to be constrained by rules or court practice. It’s increasingly infuriating Engoron.

But this is why Trump’s supporters love him. His contempt for rules, authority and establishment figures is the golden key to his political success. And it’s why he’s leading the polls of the GOP presidential race by miles.

During testimony, Donald Trump leaned into the microphone saying, “This is a very unfair trial. Very, very and I hope the public is watching.”

The court then adjourned for a 15 minute break.

Trump did not speak on his way out of court, but slammed the case on Truth Social.

The former president is also using his appearance Monday to fundraise.

His campaign sent out an appeal attacking the trial as election interference, as well as touted a recent New York Times and Siena College poll showing Trump holds an edge over President Joe Biden in a series of hypothetical matchups among registered voters in four key swing states.

“Can you believe I have to once again spend yet another day of the election cycle in the courthouse? This is a level of Election Interference never before seen in our country,” the email reads. “But even as I am currently making my way over to the Manhattan Courthouse to take the witness stand as an innocent man, I am still telling you not to lose hope!”

After another short aside in an answer from Donald Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron told attorney Chris Kise to control the former president or he will be dismissed from the stand.

Asked by Kevin Wallace of the NY attorney general’s office if a statement about 40 Wall Street’s $550 million evaluation is accurate, Trump referred to the legal issue of the statute of limitations.

“Five year statute of limitation. You’re still on 2014,” Trump said.

Engoron wasn’t pleased: “Mr. Kise that was a simple yes or no question. We got another speech. I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can’t I will. I will I excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can.”

The sniping between Judge Arthur Engoron and Donald Trump has been a feature of the first 30 or so minutes of testimony, with the judge getting impatient at various tangents from the former president.

“Mr. Kise, can you control your client?” Engoron said to Trump attorney Chris Kise.

Later, the judge said: “In addition to the answers being non responsive, they’re repetitive. We don’t have time to waste. We have one day with this witness,” Engoron says.

Trump’s legal team is deliberately trying to inject the political implications of a trial that the former president claims is an example of persecution into the apolitical context of the courtroom.

Kise referred to Monday’s “New York Times” that carries polls showing that the Republican front-runner is leading general election matchups in multiple swing states that will decide the 2024. In another intervention, he argued that Trump was the former and likely “soon to be” next chief executive of the United States.

But the approach taken by Kise and Trump’s extended answers are beginning to grate with the judge and have sparked heated sparring between the rival sets of lawyers.

Donald Trump testified that he would have added brand value to his financial statements if he wanted to “build” them up.

“If I wanted to build up the statement, like you said I did before you found out just how rich we are, I would’ve added brand value here and I would’ve increased it by tens of millions of dollars,” Trump said in reference to his statements of financial conditions.

Judge Arthur Engoron then intervened and said to New York Attorney General lawyer Kevin Wallace, “Mr. Wallace, did you ask for an essay on brand values?”

That comment from Engoron was in response to Trump’s long answer that he could have improved his net worth by including his brand values on his statement of financial condition.

As questioning went on, the judge continued to try to move Trump along. 

“‘That was a yes or no question. Please answer yes or no when you receive such a question,” Engoron said.

According to the complaint from the New York attorney general, brand premiums are not to be used according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Donald Trump was asked about the values of his assets on the financial statements, and notably answered that he thought his apartment — the size and worth of which has been a centerpiece at trial — was valued “high.”

Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Trump represented his apartment to be over 30,000 square feet to be valued at over $300 million, when in reality it had an area of less than 11,000 square feet.

Earlier. he said he thought the values were off on his financial statements, at times “both high and low,” and ultimately that Mar-A-Lago was underestimated — a comment he has made repeatedly outside of court.

Trump said, “I thought Mar-A-Lago was very underestimated but I didn’t do anything about it.”

“I thought 40 Wall Street was very underestimated for its tremendous value,” he added.

Attorney General lawyer Kevin Wallace appeared visible surprised when Trump said he perceived both “high and low” valued assets on financial statements, pausing to review a transcript before asking Trump to elaborate.

Former president Donald Trump was asked about his responsibility in preparing a 2014 statement of financial condition — which the former president said he did bear responsibility with regards to providing information. “Getting them information, yes,” he testified.

Trump then added that if his accounting firm, Mazars, “had a problem with it, they wouldn’t have done the statement.”

The New York attorney general’s attorney questioned Trump on his responsibility for the statements based on this caveat in the statement: “Donald J. Trump is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statement in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and for designing, implementing, and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statement.”

This line of questioning was interrupted when the judge had to engage with Trump and again ask him to answer the questions.

Trump went on to say he would tell anyone at Trump Organization to give information to Mazars when they asked for information to complete the statement of financial condition, but “principally” he said, former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg and ex-Trump Org. executive Jeff McConney took care of it.

Before he left for court on Monday to testify in the New York state civil fraud case against him, former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform: “Getting ready to head to the Downtown Lower Manhattan Courthouse to testify in one of the many cases that were instigated and brought by my POLITICAL OPPONENT, Crooked Joe Biden, through agencies and surrogates, for purposes of ELECTION INTERFERENCE.”

Facts First: There is no evidence for Trump’s claim that Biden instigated or brought this case. The case was brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James – after an investigation she began in 2019, roughly two years before Biden became president. As Trump has repeatedly noted, James, a Democrat, campaigned in 2018 on a pledge to pursue Trump. (Also, federal agencies do not have jurisdiction over state cases like this.)

In addition, with regard to Trump’s claim that the case was brought for the purpose of interfering with the 2024 election, it’s worth noting that James filed the lawsuit that led to this trial in September 2022 – about two months before Trump launched his 2024 campaign.

It was an extraordinary moment when Donald Trump took the witness stand a bit ago in New York. The former president slowly climbed a couple of steps into the box and raised his hand to take the oath.

Former presidents are typically surrounded by a force-field of deference, due to their status and are accompanied everywhere by Secret Service agents.

But Trump, in a blue suit, shirt and blue tie rather than his typical campaign uniform of white shirt and red tie, is sitting in the witness box alone in a leather chair, with wood panels on either side. His hands are clasped in his lap, and a large bottle of water and two smaller ones are to his left beside a screen allowing him to see court documents.

This is a civil trial rather than a criminal one. And the American people can’t see it because it’s not televised. But this the moment when the reality of the 2024 campaign hit home. Trump is simultaneously a multiple defendant, as well as being the Republican front-runner and potential next US president.

This is the most extraordinary campaign in modern history in microcosm.

Judge Arthur Engoron told Donald Trump to answer the questions related to the case — and not give speeches.

“Some of your answers have not been in response to the question,” Engoron said.

“Mr. Wallace is being very patient. I would like to move this along,” the judge said, referring to Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office.

The relationship between Engoron and Trump has been testy from the beginning. The judge already made a shocking move by ruling before the trial began that Trump committed fraud. He’s also issued a gag order to Trump after the former president attacked a courtroom clerk in a social media post and fined Trump $15,000 for breaking the order.

But minutes later, when the former president was asked by the attorney general’s lawyer about whether he was responsible for preparing his financial statements, Trump again went after the judge.

“I’m sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me,” Trump said after complaining about the statute of limitations in the case.

Engoron asked Trump attorney Chris Kise if Trump’s comment was necessary to explain his answer.

“The comment that I always rule against him, which as you know is not true anyway, certainly didn’t answer the question,” Engoron said.

Then the judge said directly to Trump: “So Mr. Trump, please just answer the question,” he said. “You can attack me, you can do whatever you want, but answer the question.”

Further questioning in today’s civil fraud trial turned toward the financial documents at the heart of the trial, with Donald Trump saying he would look at financial statements, and on occasion make suggestions.

Trump says of his statements of financial condition, “I would look at them, I would see them, and I would maybe on occasion have some suggestions.”

The former president says that bankers didn’t pay much attention to his financial statements, and says that is going to be part of their defense.

“We’ll explain that as this trial goes along. This crazy trial goes along. Because we’re bringing in the bankers. Very big bankers,” Trump says. “They will explain exactly what their process is.”

“They were not really documents that the banks paid much attention to. They looked at the deal,” he testified.

Donald Trump says he put his son Donald Trump Jr. back in charge of his trust in July 2021 because “he was impressive in business, as was Eric, and I thought I would do that while I continued onward with politics.”

Kevin Wallace of the attorney general’s office asked Trump what was happening in July 2021, and Trump notes he was being investigated by “Democrats.”

Asked if the investigations led him to put Donald Trump Jr. back in charge of the trust, Trump says, “I think more so to the fact I was staying very much in politics.”

The first questions New York attorney general attorneys asked former President Donald Trump on the stand at his civil fraud trial was to confirm he was the director president and chairman of the Trump Organization from 1981 to 2017 — leading to a series of questions working to establish how the trust at the crux of the trial was set up.

He was also asked why he appointed Allen Weisselberg as a trustee of the trust.

“Well he’d been with the company a long time and he was somebody I had confidence in,” Trump said.

“He did a good job I mean he was very good at what he did.”

When asked if he trusted the former CFO he said, “I did, yeah.”

Former President Donald Trump is testifying under oath in the New York civil fraud trial against him. 

The $250 million lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general’s office alleges Trump and his co-defendants committed repeated fraud in inflating assets on financial statements to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies.

Kevin Wallace is questioning Trump for the the attorney general’s office.

The case is civil, not criminal, but threatens Trump’s family business in New York.

Trump’s testimony Monday will be the first chance to see how he responds in the face of hostile questioning, a precursor to the four criminal trials he faces next year as he campaigns to regain the presidency.

The trial is not televised, but Trump’s appearance on the witness stand will mark arguably the highest-profile moment of his 2024 presidential campaign – a campaign in which Trump has repeatedly cited his own legal peril as a key reason voters should return him to the White House.

Former President Donald Trump spoke in the hallway flanked by his attorneys Chris Kise and Alina Habba before entering the courtroom. 

Trump railed against the case and New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling it an “unfair situation” and “really election interference.”

“We will go along, and we will hopefully do very well in every regard, and we will win the election, we will make America great again,” he added.

Attorneys for both sides are inside the courtroom ahead of expected testimony from Trump in his civil fraud trial.

James entered court before them and walked over to the area where her attorneys gathered to speak with them.

Two of Trump’s criminal defense lawyers – Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles — are also in court. They are representing Trump in the New York district attorney’s criminal case involving an alleged 2016 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The courtroom is full, mostly with reporters.  

There are a few rows for the public. Attorney General James waved to someone in those rows.

Speaking outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is expected to testify shortly in the civil fraud trial, New York Attorney General Letitia James said “before [Trump] takes the stand I am certain that he will engage in name-calling and taunts and race-baiting, and call this a witch hunt.” 

James said the former president has “repeatedly and consistently misrepresented and inflated the value of his assets.”

Former President Donald Trump will take the stand soon to give high-stakes testimony that could help decide the fate of his business empire in New York.

Trump is testifying in the civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages and to bar the former president from doing business in the state. James alleges that Trump and his co-defendants committed repeated fraud in inflating assets on financial statements to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies.

While there are no criminal charges involved, the allegations have enraged the former president, who has attended the trial for multiple days and attacked it as a political witch hunt.

Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled before the trial began last month that Trump and his co-defendants, including his adult sons, were liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. Now the judge is considering how much the Trumps will have to pay in damages for the profits they’ve allegedly garnered through fraudulent business practices.

The attorney general’s office is also looking to prove six other claims: falsifying business records, conspiracy to falsify business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.

Trump’s testimony Monday will be the first chance to see how he responds in the face of hostile questioning, a precursor to the four criminal trials he faces next year as he campaigns to regain the presidency.

The trial is not televised, but Trump’s appearance on the witness stand will mark arguably the highest-profile moment of his 2024 presidential campaign – a campaign in which Trump has repeatedly cited his own legal peril as a key reason voters should return him to the White House.

Here’s what to watch on Monday – and what’s at stake for Trump.

Former President Donald Trump has arrived at a New York courthouse to face questions in the $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his business.

The New York Attorney General’s office pressed Donald Trump’s two adult sons last week about their knowledge of and involvement with the former president’s financial statements during some of the most significant and tense days of the fraud trial.

The back-to-back appearances Thursday from Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — who both helped run the Trump Organization while their father was in the White House — came ahead of the former president’s own testimony on Monday.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are co-defendants in the case, along with their father, the Trump Org., and several company executives.

Lawyers with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office presented evidence last Thursday intended to challenge claims that the brothers were not involved with the former president’s statements of financial condition – which the judge has already ruled fraudulently inflated Donald Trump’s net worth to obtain favorable loan terms.

Here are some key takeaways from the day in court:

Eric Trump confronted with emails showing his work on Trump’s finances: Assistant Attorney General Andrew Amer’s examination grew tense as he pressed Eric Trump about his understanding of his father’s financial statements that were used to support real estate transactions and confronted him with a series of emails dating back to 2010.

Eric Trump acknowledged he provided information to former Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney, who is also a co-defendant in the trial. But he tried to distinguish between specific statements of financial condition — his father’s personal financial statements at the heart of the civil case — and general financial records for the company.

The distinction is relevant because Donald Trump’s statements of finances are the documents that the attorney general pointed to as evidence that he inflated the values of his properties to boost his net worth — and obtain favorable loan terms.

An expert witness for the attorney general testified Wednesday the Trump Organization saved $168 million thanks to the loan rates obtained with the help of fraudulent information.

Donald Trump Jr. said he relied on accountants: Donald Trump Jr. repeatedly said he relied on his accountants and was not involved with the preparations of financial statements for his father, even though he signed them as a trustee of his father’s revocable trust.

He testified that he didn’t draft the financial statements, and when he certified them as a trustee, he relied on the Trump Organization accounting and legal teams that he said assured him they were accurate to sign.

The attorney general’s office and Trump’s lawyers got into a lengthy back-and-forth over attorney-client privilege after Faherty asked what steps the Trump Organization had taken once the attorney general’s investigation into the company began in 2019.

Some internal policies and methodologies “have been bolstered” since the investigation began, Trump Jr. said. One of those changes, he said, was hiring a chief financial officer who is a certified public accountant.

Read more about the Trumps’ fraud case here.

Former President Donald Trump’s motorcade has departed Trump Tower and is now heading to the courthouse where he will take the stand and testify in the New York attorney general’s ongoing civil fraud trial against him and his business. 

Court is expected to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

The civil case is important to Donald Trump because it strikes at the heart of his persona as a billionaire real estate tycoon: The New York attorney general is accusing the former president of inflating his net worth to save hundreds of millions of dollars.

The case also has real consequences for the Trump Organization: New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to bar Trump from doing business in the state and to dissolve his companies.

The attorney general has accused Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization and several company executives of inflating Trump’s net worth by as much as $3.6 billion to obtain better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies. An expert witness for the attorney general testifying last week alleged the ill-gotten gains totaled $168 million.

Trump’s lawyers have disputed the allegations, arguing that asset valuations are highly subjective. They’ve also attacked the proceedings in Judge Arthur Engoron’s courtroom as biased against the former president, signaling a plan to appeal.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. testified last week, distancing themselves from the preparation of the president’s annual “statements of financial condition” in which the values of Trump’s properties are alleged to have been inflated.

His former lawyer Michael Cohen’s testified that Trump directed him and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, to inflate the property values, though he then contradicted himself and said that Trump had not specifically told him to do so, but it was implied what he should do. Weisselberg testified that the meeting never happened.

While Trump has claimed that Cohen’s contradictions clear him, Engoron “absolutely denied” a motion from Trump’s attorneys to dismiss the case, saying there was still a pile of evidence beyond Cohen.

Try to keep track of the galaxy of former President Donald Trump’s legal problems.

A judge in New York will hear Trump explain on Monday, under oath and in a witness box, why his company inflated the value of his assets when he was trying to secure loans.

A judge in Colorado heard testimony last week from January 6, 2021, rally organizers as she considers whether Trump engaged in an insurrection against the US and thus should be disqualified from the presidential ballot in 2024.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, temporarily froze a limited gag order placed on the former president by the judge overseeing his forthcoming federal election subversion trial.

A federal judge in Florida signaled she may postpone the federal criminal trial against Trump that she’s overseeing – the one regarding his treatment of classified material that was, among other places, kept in a bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort – because how could his lawyers keep up with all of this?

Trump denies any wrongdoing in all legal matters and has pleaded not guilty in all of the criminal cases – which relate not just to his efforts to remain president by overturning the 2020 election and his treatment of classified material after his presidency but also to a hush-money scheme that may have helped him win the White House in 2016.

He alleges a “witch hunt” against him and says the varied legal actions are examples of election interference to keep him from the White House. But each trial has its own distinct storyline to follow.

Here’s an updated list of developments in Trump’s very complicated set of court cases.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday was posting on Truth Social ahead of his expected testimony in his New York civil fraud case and continued to try to undermine the premise of the case brought against him by the New York attorney general. 

“Getting ready to head to the Downtown Lower Manhattan Courthouse to testify in one of the many cases that were instigated and brought by my POLITICAL OPPONENT, Crooked Joe Biden, through agencies and surrogates, for purposes of ELECTION INTERFERENCE,” Trump posted on Truth Social. 

The former president said the case has “zero merit” and called it a “witch hunt.”

More on the case: Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled before the trial began last month that Trump and his co-defendants, including his adult sons, were liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. Now the judge is considering how much the Trumps will have to pay in damages for the profits they’ve allegedly garnered through fraudulent business practices.

The attorney general’s office is also looking to prove six other claims, including falsifying business records and conspiracy to falsify business records.

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial expanded the gag order in the trial to extend to Trump’s attorneys after they raised multiple questions about the judge’s communications with his law clerk. 

In a written order Friday, Judge Arthur Engoron prohibited Trump’s attorneys from making any further comments about confidential communications between the judge and his staff inside or outside of the courtroom.

“Since the commencement of this bench trial, my chambers have been inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters and packages. The First Amendment right of defendants and their attorneys to comment on my staff is far and away outweighed by the need to protect them from threats and physical harm,” the judge wrote.

The judge said violating the order would result in “serious sanctions.”

Ivanka Trump on Friday withdrew her appeal of a judge’s order requiring her to testify at her father’s civil fraud trial next week after an appellate court refused to pause her testimony.

She is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Ivanka Trump’s testimony comes after she was previously dismissed as a co-defendant in the New York case against former President Donald Trump, two of his adult sons and his company. Multiple attempts by her legal team to delay her testimony have been rebuffed.

On Thursday night, an appeals court denied Ivanka Trump’s request to postpone her testimony until her lawyers could make arguments before the panel that she shouldn’t be required to appear. She had also asked the court to pause the entire fraud trial.

The former president’s eldest daughter had claimed she would suffer “undue hardship” if she were made to testify during the school week, as she lives in Florida with three minor children. Her team has also argued that the New York civil court has no jurisdiction to compel her testimony since she is no longer a defendant in the lawsuit and does not live in New York state. New York Judge Arthur Engoron previously rejected those arguments.

Her attorneys, in dropping the appeal Friday, said it is now “moot” because she is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before she can make her legal arguments.

Ivanka Trump’s brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, appeared in court last week. Both men helped run the Trump Organization while their father was in the White House. The former president is slated to testify on Monday.

A year away from Election Day 2024, former President Donald Trump is set to testify in a civil fraud trial and separately faces more than 90 criminal charges, setting up the possibility that a convicted felon tops the Republican ticket next November.

But it’s President Joe Biden’s political prospects that are plunging.

In another extraordinary twist to a 2024 campaign season that is more notable for court hearings than treks through early voting states, Trump is expected to be called to the witness stand in New York on Monday. This is hardly typical activity during a post-presidency. But Trump was, after all, the most unconventional president.

Biden, meanwhile, is absorbing brutal new polls showing him losing to GOP front-runner Trump in multiple key swing states. The numbers will likely ignite panic among Democrats and renew doubts among Americans that the soon-to-be-81-year-old is up to a full second term. If the New York Times/Siena College survey is borne out in 2024, there would be no electoral path to victory for Biden. And an increasingly authoritarian Trump – who is promising a second term of “retribution” – could pull off a White House comeback in spite of sparking a Capitol insurrection with his false claims of electoral fraud in 2020.

“I was concerned before these polls, and I’m concerned now,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“These presidential races over the last couple of terms have been very tight. No one is going to have a runaway election here. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, concentration, resources. And so we have our work cut out for us.”

The coinciding crises facing both Trump and Biden belie the fact that, for all their deficiencies, neither is yet to face a serious challenger from within their parties as they seek the nomination.

Biden’s position is weakening as he tackles cascading global threats such as the war in the Middle East, sheds support over his handling of the economy and sees cracks in the multiracial coalition that first elected him. It also reflects a nation that is divided and disconsolate, and groping for the elusive normality that the president promised three years ago after the pandemic and the historic turbulence of the Trump administration.

Keep reading here.

When Donald Trump takes the stand in his New York civil fraud trial Monday, it won’t be the first time a former president will have given testimony in his own defense in a lawsuit.

Teddy Roosevelt did it twice more than a hundred years ago, both when he sued a Michigan newspaper that accused him of being a drunk and later when he was sued by a fellow New York Republican whom Roosevelt had called a corrupt political boss.

Roosevelt won both cases. Trump, by contrast, has already been found liable for fraud by the judge in New York.

Those Roosevelt trials, separated by two years, were each sensational at the time, and they came after Roosevelt’s final campaign for the White House, when he placed second to Democrat Woodrow Wilson in 1912 after splitting with Republicans and running as a Progressive.

Trump, on the other hand, is very much still in the arena, and his legal strategy in a slew of civil and criminal cases is tied to his concurrent presidential campaign. He has argued that two gag orders – the one issued against him by a federal judge in Washington, DC, and the other by the civil trial judge in New York – hinder his ability to speak as a candidate.

Much of the questioning of Donald Trump on Monday is expected to involve the properties that are the backbone of his business, including the 40 Wall Street building in New York, Trump National Doral Miami golf course and resort, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, and the Old Post Office project in Washington, DC. The attorney general has also alleged Trump inflated the value of his triplex apartment in Trump Tower.

And perhaps most importantly: The tax status and value of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida are at issue in the case.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to a line in the judge’s September ruling that Mar-a-Lago was worth $18 million to argue the decision was fatally flawed.

In court, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba claimed that Mar-a-Lago would sell for at least $1 billion. “The value is what someone is willing to pay. The Trump properties are Mona Lisa properties,” Habba said.

The $18 million valuation, based on a tax assessor’s appraisal, has been questioned by real estate insiders. Engoron said in court he was not valuing the property in his decision.

But the Mar-a-Lago valuation is just one of the instances in which Trump is likely to push back against claims that the values of his properties were inflated.

Former President Donald Trump is set to testify this morning in the New York civil fraud trial against him.

Last month, the former president briefly took the stand when Judge Arthur Engoron wanted to hear directly from him after Trump had apparently spoken about Engoron’s law clerk — in violation of the judge’s gag order.

The judge briefly paused the New York civil fraud trial testimony and said he was “going to hold a hearing right now” on the matter and would call his first witness: Donald J. Trump.

Engoron asked Trump if he would like to be on the witness stand.

Trump didn’t hesitate, pushing back his seat at the defense table instantly to stand and walk into the witness box. Wearing a blue tie, pinstripe shirt and navy suit, Trump raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Trump’s surprise appearance as a witness under questioning from the judge was an astonishing moment even in a year of unprecedented firsts for a former president who has been indicted four times and now faces the prospect of criminal trials all playing out while he runs for the White House in 2024.

This episode — where Trump’s alleged violation of a gag order by attacking his perceived opponents could, in theory, have led to his imprisonment — was a stark reminder of the difficulty he will face navigating his campaign rhetoric with the legal realities and constraints of the courtroom.

Once Trump was on the stand, Engoron put on his lawyer hat and launched into a calm interrogation of the former president, reading back what Trump had told reporters outside the courtroom only hours earlier.

“This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him — perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump had said.

Before lunch, Trump’s lawyers claimed his statement was not about the judge’s clerk, but about Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, the witness who had also been sitting next to the judge. It was a claim that strained credulity, given Trump’s previous attacks.

But Engoron wanted to hear it directly from Trump.

“To whom were you referring,” Engoron asked Trump about his comments in the hallway.
“You and Cohen,” Trump said.
“Are you sure you didn’t mean the person on the other side?” Engoron asked, a reference to his clerk, who was still seated, keeping a straight face, just to his right.
“Yes,” I’m sure,” Trump responded.

Following additional exchanges, and after Trump took a seat, Engoron said he was fining the former president $10,000 for his comments.

During the first week of the trial, Engoron enforced a gag order barring parties from speaking about his staff, in response to a social media post from Trump attacking Engoron’s clerk and showing a picture of her with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.

Trump had already been fined last week $5,000 because his post hadn’t been taken down from his website, something his lawyers said was inadvertent, and warned there would be more severe penalties for additional violations – even threatening imprisonment.

Read more about Trump’s courtroom appearance.

A banking expert testified last Wednesday that Donald Trump and his company benefited more than $168 million by obtaining favorable loan terms on transactions where the former president personally guaranteed the loans.

The New York Attorney General’s office called Michiel McCarty to testify about his assessment of the $168 million in ill-gotten gains.

McCarty analyzed the lending documents related to transactions at issue in this case for the following Trump Organization properties: 40 Wall Street in New York, The Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Florida, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, and the Old Post Office project in Washington DC.

McCarty calculated the difference in interest payments that Trump might have paid with a commercial real estate loan that would have had a much higher interest rate than the rate he obtained by personally guaranteeing the loans on the basis of financial statements that inflated his net worth.

He determined the Trump Organization saved on interest for the properties:

Trump’s attorney Chris Kise argued repeatedly in objections that the expert should not be permitted to suggest what loan rate Trump Org. could have gotten because no trial evidence has shown the lenders would have changed the loan terms if they knew Trump’s net worth was inflated based on the asset valuation in his financial statements.

Judge Arthur Engoron overruled the defense objections, reminding Kise of the summary judgment that already found Trump and his company liable for fraud before the trial started.

Read more here.