Trump testifies in New York civil fraud trial

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 walks out of the courtroom during a break in proceedings at New York Supreme Court on Monday.

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.

Former President Donald Trump prepares to testify during his trial in New York Supreme Court on Monday.

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.

In this October 17 photo, Attorney General Letitia James leaves the courtroom during the civil fraud trial of Former President Donald Trump at New York Supreme Court.

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.”

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.

Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump at New York Supreme Court on Monday.

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.

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.