Former President Donald Trump has claimed the attorney general and judge overseeing his non-jury business fraud trial in New York are biased and determined the outcome of the trial before it started.
Unusual statements by the judge when Trump testified in court on Monday appear to substantiate the former president’s claims.
Judge Arthur Engoron attempted to silence Trump’s attorney, telling her to “sit down” when she questioned the proceedings. Engoron also said, “I am not here to listen to what Trump has to say” and stopped Trump from reading from what he called an “exonerating document.”
Legal experts have noted that though Trump may lose the case in Engoron’s court, he will win in the court of public opinion.
Flirting with Engoron’s gag order, Trump told his Truth Social followers that the judge was not interested in the truth and denied his request to read a financial disclaimer that accompanied all financial records submitted to banks.
At the heart of the criminal charges is the claim that Trump perpetrated fraud by purposely inflating the value of his assets. Trump denies the claim, asserts that his holdings were undervalued, that valuations submitted to banks did not include the value of his brand name, and the financial disclaimers included in his documents are common and require financial officers to reach their own conclusions regarding submitted data.
According to the New York Post, during Monday’s proceedings, Trump said to the judge: “I would love to read this, Your Honor, if I could? Am I allowed to do that?”
Engoron replied sarcastically “Read my opinion again — or for the first time, perhaps,” then said, “NO, no, no.”
The former president wrote:
“This is the Paper that I wanted to submit that the Judge refused to take, because he doesn’t want anybody to know about the Disclaimer Clause at the beginning of each Financial Statement. This is just part of it! That case is a disgrace to the Legal and Judicial System of New York. Hopefully, the Appellate Courts will stop this travesty of Justice that everybody is watching and fully understanding!”
Trending Politics reported that Trump has characterized Judge Engoron as “very unfair.” Cameras in the courtroom have captured Engoron trolling Trump with frequent grins.
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