After being warned about his out-of-court comments, former President Donald Trump returned Wednesday to a New York City courtroom where his trial on allegations of corporate fraud continues, in which his defense attorneys thoroughly questioned an accountant who prepared financial statements at the center of the case.
Outside the courtroom, Trump’s lawyers appealed a key pretrial ruling that Trump committed fraud by inflating the values of prized assets, including his Trump Tower penthouse.
The civil case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump and his companies of exaggerating his wealth in financial statements that went to banks, insurers and others.
WHAT THE ACCOUNTANT REVEALED THIS WEDNESDAY
With accountant Donald Bender on the witness stand, state lawyers have sought to show that Trump and others at his company had complete control over the preparation of the financial statements. Bender testified Tuesday that the Trump Organization did not always provide all the information needed to produce the documents.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and his defense continued Wednesday to blame Bender for any deficiencies in the statements.
Lawyer Jesús M. Suárez said the accounting firm told its clients that it may need the help of specialists to evaluate assets such as works of art, jewelry and some types of securities in closely held businesses and real estate.
Suarez then showed a video of pretrial testimony in which Bender said he did not remember whether he consulted with any specialists when preparing Trump’s financial statements.
Earlier, during cross-examination, Bender acknowledged Tuesday that he missed a change in information about the size of the former president’s Trump Tower apartment.
Suarez described that as a big mistake and told the accountant that the company and Trump employees were “going through hell” because “you missed it.” Bender replied that it was a mistake by the Trump Organization, “and we didn’t realize it.”
JUDGE’S CLAIMS
As cross-examination proceeded Wednesday with painstaking questions about specific aspects of the individual financial statements, Judge Arthur Engoron pounded his fist and said the defense was ignoring his instructions to speed up the questioning.
“This is ridiculous,” said the judge, who is hearing the case without a jury because state law does not allow one in this type of lawsuit.
Trump’s lawyers complained that the judge was compromising their ability to defend the former president and his real estate empire. “I’ve never had to negotiate how to ask questions as a lawyer,” said defense attorney Christopher Kise.
Trump, favorite in polls to be the Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 elections, is voluntarily taking time off his campaign to attend the trial.
THE KEYS TO THE JUDGMENT
Judge Arthur Engoron has already determined that Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of properties, such as his Trump Tower penthouse. The ruling, if ratified with the appeal, could cost the former president his emblematic building and other properties.
On Tuesday, the judge issued a partial gag order and ordered all participants to refrain from launching personal attacks against court staff after Trump posted a message on social media about a judge’s assistant.
The judge ordered Trump to delete the “denigrating, false and personally identifying” message, and the former president deleted it.
The bench trial focuses on six claims that remained in the lawsuit after the judge’s ruling, to determine how much Trump must pay as a penalty. James is asking for $250 million and for Trump to be banned from doing business in New York.
2023-10-04 19:22:33
#Trump #lawyers #attack #key #witness #day #civil #trial
