Posted on 10/02/2023 6:54:04 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and his two sons (and several other entities and people) were liable for overstating the value of his holdings. Essentially this was the civil case equivalent of finding him guilty of fraud.
In his 35-page ruling, Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump continually lied on his financial statements and was able to get favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums as a result. Trump’s legal arguments defending the statements are based in “a fantasy world, not the real world,” Engoron wrote.
The judge went on to say that the case was essentially a “documents case,” and “the documents here clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business, satisfying [the attorney general’s] burden to establish liability as a matter of law against defendants. Defendants’ respond that: the documents do not say what they say; that there is no such thing as ‘objective; value; and that, essentially, the Court should not believe its own eyes.”
“The defenses Donald Trump attempts to articulate in his sworn deposition are wholly without basis in law or fact,” Engoron added.
That ruling didn’t seem to leave much left to decide in the actual trial except how much Trump would have to pay. AG Letitia James was seeking a judgment of $250 million. As Karen pointed out earlier, Trump showed up for day one of the trial and the judge ruled that no cameras would be allowed, though reporters were able to snap a few photos of Trump before the trial began. Some noted that Judge Engoron acted like he was having a good time.
Judge Arthur Engoron allows cameras into the courtroom for Donald Trump’s fraud trial.
In a quirky moment, the judge takes off his glasses to smile for the camera – something Trump doesn't seem to find very funny.
Follow our live blog on this trial 👉 https://t.co/sbvd1njJty pic.twitter.com/JCgtBUAA2f
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 2, 2023
Outside of the court house, AG Letitia James made a statement saying she would prove her case in court.
"My message is simple…no one is above the law."
New York Attorney General Letitia James spoke outside the New York Supreme Court ahead of former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial on Monday. pic.twitter.com/pWhqIWQ3Sx
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 2, 2023
Trump started the day by calling AG James a racist and the case against him a “horror show.” More to the point, he argued for a no harm no foul standard, i.e. since none of the banks who loaned him money lost anything there was no underlying harm to anyone.
Trump spoke after arriving for the civil trial in the $250M fraud lawsuit brought against him and his two adult sons by NY AG Letitia James: “This is a continuation of the single greatest witch-hunt of all time…this has to do with election interference, plain and simple.” pic.twitter.com/UwEdmz2F4G
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) October 2, 2023
Ken Dilanian appeared on NBC News and noted that Trump was correct about the banks involved not losing any money, but obviously that didn’t matter to AG James or to Judge Engoron.
There was a break in the trial and Trump came out and this time focused his comments more on Judge Engoron. “This is a judge that should be disbarred,” Trump said, among other things.
Trump in New York City court house calls out 'rogue' judge during break in trial. @realDonaldTrump @DanScavino pic.twitter.com/4ihqvYLdKF
— Broken Anthem (@BrokenAnthemUSA) October 2, 2023
When the trial broke for lunch, Trump again gave a brief statement in which he cited the judge’s ruling that Mar-a-Lago was worth $18 million as an error. Trump suggested his club was actually worth over a billion. “We’re wasting our time with this trial with a Democrat judge from the clubhouses. It’s a disgrace,” Trump said.
Leaving court for a lunch break today, former president Trump angrily called the fraud trial he is facing in New York a "disgrace."
STORY >> https://t.co/4Q7X7ukzyh pic.twitter.com/Fxdh2ohCQB
— WNDU (@16NewsNow) October 2, 2023
If you’re wondering what they had for lunch, that mystery has been solved.
WATCH: Donald Trump seen ordering mountains of McDonald's during court lunch break👀 pic.twitter.com/GbBnr8eh5q
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 2, 2023
After lunch, Trump’s former accountant Donald Bender was called to testify:
Mr Bender says he prepared documents of Trump’s assets and liabilities and that he would take the information given by his client presented in a financial statement. He says that before technology improved, he would go to Trump Tower in person to obtain the necessary documents and put them in a binder. Then technology changed, he says, and they were able to get the records by email…
This technical accounting testimony, despite its dry nature, manages to hold the courtroom’s attention as it sheds light on the intricacies of Trump’s financial documentation.
Near the end of the day, Trump reportedly got upset with Bender’s testimony:
At times, he appears to be very upset with his face turning red. At one point, Trump turned to Cliff Robert, the attorney for his adult sons, and whisper-yelled at him, while pointing and waving his finger.
So given all that seemed to go on today, you may be surprised to hear that Trump ended the day by saying the last 5-minutes of the trial was “outstanding” and that the judge’s statement was “very fair.”
BREAKING: Donald Trump takes somewhat of a victory lap at the New York courthouse, says the judge was "fair."
He added that the judge agreed that the statute of limitations is in effect meaning transactions that closed before 2014 should be out of the case, therefore "80% of the case will be dropped."
"I think that was very good. That last five minutes was outstanding because the judge essentially conceded that the statute of limitations is in effect, therefore about 80% of the cases over."
WOW.pic.twitter.com/pVThgKdsjZ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 2, 2023
That’s quite a dramatic change in tone. I haven’t seen a reaction from AG James yet. We’ll have to wait and see if this really does put an end to 80% of the case, but obviously if that’s true it would be a significant change for Trump.
Bkmk
The judge could have sidestepped the statute of limitations, because this is all about politics, not about the law. But I think he realizes this cases is a stinker and he doesn’t want his fingerprints on it when it falls apart.
I think you give this corrupt judge too much credit. I think it has more to do with a likely phone call from someone on the appeals court that had already told him he was wrong and that he better not ignore what they had said. Everything about this guy says he is a democrat without ethics or brains.
That unbiased new york judge looks like Larry David from SNL.
Trump’s attorneys went with a bench trial cuz they know its a circus
on to the appeal as quickly as possible
The art of the deal.
These judges are hyper liberal in NYS. It’s the only way they get these nominations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.