When Donald Trump took the witness stand on Monday morning, he started what might turn out to be his most expensive rally ever.
This was supposed to be his chance to give his side of the case in a $250m fraud trial that threatens to end his business career in New York state. On the stand, Trump mentioned crime in New York City and “election interference” as if he were in front of a crowd.
“Many people are leaving New York … you have the attorney general sitting here all day long, it’s a shame what’s going on,” Trump said. “We have a hostile judge, and it’s sad.”
The former president’s appearance on the witness stand would feel familiar to anyone who’s ever seen a glimpse of Trump’s rallies. Outside a huge line of reporters waited to get in. Banks of TV cameras parked outside the venue. Protesters shouted. The trial judge is the sole decider of this case and the fine that is at stake. But when Trump comes to town, the circus follows.
Even his testimony was reminiscent of his rallies. His statements about his real estate company were wistful, boastful and bizarre. “If I want to build something, I built a very big ballroom, a big ballroom that was built by me, it was very large, very beautiful,” Trump said when talking about using the value of Mar-a-Lago. Talking about his Scottish golf club, he promised: “At some point, at a very old age, I’ll do the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see,” he didn’t reveal what.
But these pastoral passages were short-lived and overshadowed by an anger, seemingly uncontrolled at times on the stand, that was hot and furious. And the audience – at least the one that matters in the court – was having none of it.
At multiple points during Trump’s testimony, Judge Arthur Engoron interrupted the former president for making “speeches” on the stand, instead of answering the prosecutor’s questions.
The usually affable judge has tired of Trump and his lawyers’ grandstanding.
“Did you ask for an essay on brand value?” Engoron asked the prosecutor after Trump started speaking at length about how his brand value upped the worth of his properties.
Within an hour of Trump being on the stand, Engoron appeared to grow more impatient with Trump’s rambling.
“I beseech you to control him or I will,” Engoron told Trump’s lawyers after Trump said “all you have to do is look at a picture of a building” to understand its value.
Trump’s lawyers often stood up quickly to come to Trump’s defense, saying that he was delivering “brilliant answers” and referring to him as the “former and assumed-to-be chief executive of the United States”. When Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise told the judge that he should hear what Trump should have to say, Engoron snapped.
“No, I’m not here and these people are not here, the office of the attorney general is not here to hear him. We’re here to hear him answer the questions,” Engoron said as Trump shook his head. When Trump’s lawyers protested the judge’s comment, he sternly told them to “sit down”.
Trump scored few if any legal points in the court. He often returned to the same lines of arguments, lines that the judge has rejected or questioned. He argued that the financial documents were past the statute of limitations or that he had enough cash to make lenders happy. His favorite argument seemed to be that his financial disclosures contain a disclaimer or “worthless” clause that means the banks never relied upon them.
Engoron has already called that argument worthless and at one point, implored Trump to read his pre-trial ruling, where he ruled the disclosures “do not insulate defendants from liability”.
“If you want to read about the disclaimer clause, read my opinion,” Engoron told Trump.
Before lunch, it looked like an exasperated Engoron was so fed up of Trump’s non-answers he would throw Trump out of the courtroom. Even Trump seemed – briefly – chastened. Asked how it was going during the break, he motioned zipping his mouth shut.
That didn’t last long.
“The fraud is on behalf of the court,” a furious Trump barked after lunch, turning red, hands waving back and forth in front of the witness stand. He pointed to Engoron sitting next to him and, later, to the New York attorney general, Letitia James. “He’s the one that didn’t value the property correctly … It’s a terrible thing you’ve done, you believed the political hack back there and that’s unfortunate.”
A pause settled over the courtroom. The prosecutor Kevin Wallace looked up at Trump. “You done?” he asked the former president.
“Done,” Trump responded.
The trial continues.
