Donald Trump spoke Monday at his civil fraud trial and it began with Judge Arthur Engoron, who interrupted the former president’s testimony to reprimand him for evading questions and making political rants.
During the first hour of testimony, Engoron sought to move the case forward, insisting that Trump “just answer questions, don’t make speeches,” even telling him at one point, “You can attack me, you can do whatever you want. ” I want to, but answer the question.
Engoron had already ruled before the trial began that Trump and his co-defendants, which include his two eldest sons and The Trump Organization, were liable for “persistent and repeated” financial fraud.
The ongoing lawsuit seeks to determine how much damages the Trumps will have to pay and six other lawsuits filed through New York Attorney General Letitia James.
When Trump took the witness stand, the judges were furious with the witnesses’ answers, imploring his lawyers to “control him if they can. “
But Trump’s combative behavior may be part of his larger legal strategy, experts say.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that while he’s not surprised Trump is provocative on the witness stand, the former president’s choice to take that stance on his only day of testimony in the trial suggests he’s looking to make the most of a case he already knows he lost.
“Trump knows that he’s lost this case, and it’s just a matter of how badly. He’s trying to get under the judge’s skin and create a record on appeal,” Rahmani said.
“Judge Engoron asked Trump’s lawyers to control him, but that is a fruitless exercise, because Trump can’t be controlled by anyone,” he added. “The only way to do so is to hold him in contempt, and I don’t think Engoron has the courage to do so.”
Former federal prosecutor and federal prosecutor-elect Michael McAuliffe also told Newsweek that Trump most likely knew that he and the other defendants in the case would not be able to improve their case by appearing on the stand.
Instead, both Rahmani and McAuliffe said Trump is using his testimony to play to an audience that is well outside the courtroom. They said the former president is using the courtroom for his own “political theater” to speak not to the legal players in the courtroom, but to his base and other voters outside of it.
When asked about the valuation of the Mar-a-Lago property, Trump expressed anger at James, calling the trial “shameful” and a “political witch hunt. “
“I think she should be ashamed of herself,” Trump said before turning to Engoron to criticize him for the ruling issued before the trial.
“He called me a scammer and didn’t know anything about me,” Trump said, adding that he considered Engoron’s opinion to be “fraudulent. “
“The fraud is on the ground, in me,” Trump said.
James’ referred Newsweek to the attorney general’s comments the day before, which said, “This morning, Donald Trump used intimidation and name-calling, gave incoherent answers, and hurled insults from the witness stand to distract from the truth. Make no mistake,” he committed fraud. Numbers and facts don’t lie.
McAuliffe said while it’s “effective in the moment” since Trump can control the courtroom as a witness who isn’t constrained by the rules that the other involved parties face, the former president is “helping the attorney general’s legal case in the long term” because the judge still has yet to determine the penalties the Trumps will face in this case.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise, via email for comment.
Updated 11/6/23 at 2:24 p. m. ET This story has been updated with comments from James’ office.
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter founded in New York City. Its purpose is to inform U. S. and global politics. He has covered the Republican presidential election and the U. S. school system extensively. U. S. Katherine joined Newsweek in 2020 and in the past worked at Good Cleaning and Marie Claire. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario and earned his master’s degree from New York University. You can reach Katherine by emailing k. fung@newsweek. com. Languages: English.