Trump is now being asked whether the valuations of a number of his properties are accurate.
Instead of answering yes or no, Trump is giving speeches about how and why he invested in various properties.
Again the judge asks Trump’s legal team to stop the speeches.
“I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can’t, I will,” Judge Engoron says.
The state is asking about a 2021 financial statement. Trump says he thinks it’s accurate - he hopes so.
“I was so busy in the White House,” he says, adding his focus was on “China” and “Russia”.
“For the record, you weren’t president in 2021 were you?” prosecutor Kevin Wallace asks.
Trump says no.
Bwahahaha! What an idjit he is.
I’m surprised he didn’t hang on the fact he was president for the first three weeks of the year
Kevin Wallace of the attorney general’s team is pressing Trump about the several instances in which he has admitted to directing his team to lower the values of properties - after his team completed financial statements.
Trump is not providing many specifics. “They made a mistake,” he says, adding that the statements had an error disclaimer clause that mean “you don’t have to get sued by the Attorney General of New York”.
It’s the same way he’s been answering most questions today, evading a direct yes or no, and attacking the prosecution.
Trump’s attorney Chris Kise argued earlier in the day that Judge Engoron should allow Trump to give answers in his own way.
“With this witness, it’s far more efficient to listen and take it all in,” Kise said earlier, prompting Wallace to laugh.
Ahead of today’s court session, a former federal prosecutor told BBC News that Donald Trump’s team was attacking the judge and the trial because “they know they’ve already lost”.
Renato Mariotti says he expected Trump to try to “deflect responsibility” and blame accountants or other employees for the false valuations of properties.
He says Trump is going to have to “walk a tightrope” giving evidence today, but adds he believes the former president’s legal team have internally “told him they’re going to lose this case”.
“They’re attacking the judge, not to try to convince him, but because they already know they’ve lost and are trying to spin, or add some colour, to a very bad result.” from Renato Mariotti, former federal prosecutor
It’s already been a finding of fact that Trump is guilty of fraud. This isn’t even up for debate and hasn’t been for some time. The only thing to decide is the amount of financial liability Trump is going to suffer for the fraud he committed.
So Trump would’ve known for weeks that he’s lost unless his plan is to redefine win as not lose as much as he could’ve.
Well, we finally had a courtroom laugh moment. Prosecutor asked Trump about his involvement in financials from end of 2021. Trump said his focus at that time was on China and Russia and “keeping our country safe.” Courtroom laughed. Note: Trump wasn’t president in 2021.
I really want to see his reaction to the courtroom laughing at him. I think this is the first time he is experiencing direct humiliation.
I’m somewhat convinced that this moment was when he decided to run for President.
Man I miss Obama! I can’t think of another president that was more human.
He would never admit feeling humiliated, but I’d wager his entire personality is shaped around covering for his profound internalized shame and insecurity
Nah, I don’t think that’s true. The dude is insecure as fuck, he kinda laughs stuff off, but inside he’s fucking frothing at the mouth and then unleashes it on twitter. In response, he’ll just double down with his bullshit and play it off, but in private, he writes people down on his “list”.
Guarantee he thinks everyone laughed because he had such a great response to the question it made the prosecution look dumb.
Is this not perjury?
I was \ then.
No you weren’t.
No I wasn’t.
Are you allowed to blatantly lie and just walk it back when called out?
Perjury is more than just saying something factually wrong on the stand. Republicans spent years talking about how getting trump in a courtroom was a perjury trap because he would make a small mistake like recall the January 12 of 2011 was a Saturday and then they prosecution would be like, “no it wasn’t and now you go to jail because we hate America”. In reality, perjury basically takes someone knowingly and intentionally entering testimony that is false. Simply forgetting that he wasn’t president at the time would not qualify.
Judge Engoron is attempting to redirect the court again as Trump continues to go on about his golf course in Scotland.
“Do you want to let the witness ramble on, be unresponsive?” Engoron asks Kevin Wallace of the attorney general’s team.
Trump’s attorney Chris Kise chimes in to say he thinks Trump’s response is a “brilliant answer”.
This prompts a chuckle from Wallace.
