Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is under suspicion of inflating his asset value, took the witness stand on the 6th (all times local). Foreign media outlets such as Bloomberg reported that Trump’s behavior in court was reminiscent of his posts on ‘Truth Social,’ a social media platform he created.
Trump, who appeared in the civil trial held at the Manhattan District Court in New York City with his legal team, raised his voice, calling the judge ‘biased,’ the court a ‘fraud,’ and the lawsuit ‘crazy.’ He testified that no one knows real estate as well as he does and that the banks fully understood what they were doing.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James previously indicted Trump for allegedly defrauding banks and insurance companies by inflating the asset value of the Trump Group up to $3.6 billion annually to receive loans on better terms. It is claimed that he gained illegal profits amounting to $250 million through this asset inflation.
Bloomberg reported, “He projected the tone of his political rallies from the witness stand,” and “He appeared noticeably angry, at times shouting in response to questions.” It added, “He repeatedly infuriated the judge with verbose and disjointed speech as if picked from his social media posts.”
Trump’s wealth, reputation, and the future of his real estate business that led him to the presidency are at stake in this trial. Since the trial was not broadcast on TV, the American public could not witness the proceedings.
Trump walked slowly to the witness stand with a gloomy face at 10 a.m. and took an oath. Initially, he answered questions concisely, but this didn’t last long. Less than an hour after the trial started, Judge Arthur Engoron warned Trump for giving long and verbose answers to ‘yes or no’ questions.
Judge Engoron told Trump’s attorney, Christopher Kise, “Can you control your client? This is not a political rally.” However, Trump ignored the judge’s warning, and the courtroom was tense. The judge asked Kise to instruct Trump on how to behave in court. Still, Kise claimed, “The former and soon-to-be CEO of America understands the rules very well.” The judge retorted, “He is not following the rules.”
Trump admitted that he participated in preparing the company’s financial statements. In response to the prosecution’s probe, he said, “All I did was tell people to provide what the accountants needed to prepare the financial statements and approved it.” He added, “I reviewed (the financial statements), and in some cases, I made some suggestions.”
Trump emphasized his innocence, particularly by citing indemnity clauses. He repeatedly stressed that he and the case are unrelated because there are indemnity clauses urging banks not to rely on estimates but to perform their evaluations in preparing financial statements. Also, he defended, “We have an indemnity clause that should exempt us from being sued by the New York State Attorney General,” arguing that the indemnity clause is so strong that he signed documents prepared by others.
He also said that he didn’t have time to get involved in preparing financial statements because he was too busy with political issues. Trump emphasized that he was too busy protecting our country to participate in the preparation of the 2021 financial statements, focusing on issues with China and Russia. In response, plaintiff’s attorney Kevin Wallace asked, “For the record, you weren’t president in 2021, were you?”
Meanwhile, Trump faces four criminal trials on 91 charges, but his legal troubles are not holding him back but instead boosting his approval ratings. Trump has been gaining the upper hand in recent polls for a one-on-one showdown with U.S. President Joe Biden. Foreign media predicted that Trump would actively use this testimony and criminal charges to raise more donations.
By. Yoon Ju Hae
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