Donald Trump stormed out of his civil fraud trial in New York on Wednesday after being called for a surprise hearing where a judge berated him as “unbelievable” — and fined him $10,000 for violating a gag order by defaming the court’s chief law clerk.
“Don’t do it again, or it will get worse,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron admonished Trump, 77, after the former president got off the bench and walked back to the defense table, hunched over with his head bowed.
During the dramatic three-minute hearing, Trump denied he was talking about Engoron’s law clerk when he complained to reporters earlier in the day that “a very partisan person” was sitting “with” the judge — who ruled on a $250 million fraud case that threatened his real estate empire New York Donald.
Trump has already been warned twice and fined $5,000 for making public attacks on the judge’s top law clerk Allison Greenfield, whom he insulted at the start of the trial in a since-deleted post on Truth Social.
“Are you saying, ‘This judge is a very partisan judge with very partisan people sitting next to him’?” the judge asked Trump after calling him to the stand when court resumed after a lunch break.
Trump answered “yes” and claimed that he was actually talking about his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen – who was cross-examined on Wednesday by his new personal lawyer, Alina Habba, about his testimony on Tuesday that Trump had “tasked” him to exaggerate the value . of its assets on financial documents.
Former President Donald Trump leaves his civil fraud trial after being fined $10,000 by a judge for violating a gag order.AP Photo/Seth Wenig
But Engoron didn’t buy it.
Greenfield sat directly next to Engoron, to the judge’s right, while Cohen had taken a seat on the witness stand, a few feet to the judge’s left, and separated from the judge by a wooden barrier.
“You sure you don’t mean the person over there, my chief law clerk?” Engoron investigated during the 2:30 p.m. hearing.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Trump insisted.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron called Trump “untrustworthy” before issuing the fine.Steven Hirsch for the NYPost
He then said that Greenfield — who he baselessly called New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s “girlfriend” in his post — was “probably unfair,” before adding, “I think she’s very biased against us.”
The judge excused Trump from the stand, and the 45th president said, “Thank you” before slowly walking back to the defense table.
“I found the witness to be unreliable,” Engoron declared moments later – imposing a fine and finding that Trump had in fact violated the gag order.
About an hour later, an angry Trump stood up and stormed out of the courtroom – in a move that appeared to surprise his own lawyers – after the judge rejected his lawyers’ offer to throw out the case as Cohen acknowledged that Trump had not explicitly “directed” him to raise the value of the asset.
Engoron warned Trump “don’t do it again, or it will get worse.” Dave Sanders/Pool via REUTERS
“Unbelievable,” Trump muttered to himself as he stood up and walked out of the room, as US Secret Service agents scrambled to keep up with him and his son, Eric Trump, followed behind.
“Unbelievable,” Trump said for the second time on his way out.
After Trump left the room, Cohen, 57, told the court that the former president “talked like a mob boss” and strongly implied that he and former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg intended to manipulate the filing to achieve Trump’s increased desires. sum.
“He’s telling you what he wants without telling you specifically,” Cohen said after attorneys from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office asked him to clarify his testimony. “We understand what he wants.”
A sketch of Trump’s courtroom shows his former lawyer Michael Cohen taking the stand.REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Engoron has already found Trump responsible for inflating his fortune and revoking the 2024 Republican presidential candidate’s New York business license, which could hinder Trump’s ability to operate in the Empire State.
The judge said Wednesday that Trump’s efforts to dismiss the AG’s remaining claims had been “roundly rejected” — in part because Cohen was not considered a “key witness” and the suit included numerous files and other testimony as evidence.
“This case has evidence, believable or not, everywhere,” Engoron said, adding: “There is enough evidence to fill this courtroom.”
Trump spoke to the media after leaving court.JC Rice
Trump told reporters on his way out of court that the case should be thrown out because of Cohen’s history as a “liar.”
“He said, ‘I lied.’ many times,” Trump said.
“And then he said, on the best television show you could ever imagine, he said, I, ‘I’m not asking him to manipulate numbers.’ That should be the end of the case,” Trump added, before leaving his entourage.
Meanwhile, Cohen told reporters that Trump looked like a “lost man” at the defense table.
“I see someone who knows it’s the end of the Trump Organization,” he said.
The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday morning when another witness will be called by the Attorney General’s office.
Trump is not expected to attend.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
