A civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump by the state of New York was full of dramatic events Wednesday. For the second day in a row, Trump was back in the courtroom to listen to testimony from a key witness.
What Happened: Trump is not required to attend every day in person for his civil fraud case in New York and after the events of Wednesday, he may be wishing he hadn’t.
Trump was back in court to hear testimony from his former attorney Michael Cohen, who worked for him from 2006 to 2018.
Cohen continued his attack on Trump and claims of criminal activity, which followed up on his testimony on Tuesday.
Cohen testified he previously overstated the value of Trump and his assets.
“I remember Mr. Trump wanted me to say that,” Cohen said in one instance.
The former lawyer acknowledged he was one of the reasons the investigation by the state of New York against Trump was being done. The trial came with 2019 congressional testimony by Cohen being cited as a reason for the investigation.
Cohen acknowledged during testimony he had “significant animosity” against Trump. The former lawyer also admitted he previously worshipped Trump and would “take a bullet” for him.
Trump dismissed the testimony of Cohen when speaking to the media outside the court.
“He’s a felon, convicted felon for lying, went to jail for lying, and this is their only witness. When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing,” Trump said, as shared by NBC News.
Trump also told reporters Judge Arthur Engoron was a “very partisan judge with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even more partisan than he is.”
This comment drew the attention of the judge later in the trial. Engoron, who had previously placed a limited gag order on Trump, made the former president take the stand.
The judge suggested Trump may have been speaking about his law clerk, who sits next to him, which would be a violation of the gag order. Trump was fined $10,000 by the judge. Trump denied the violation saying he was speaking about Cohen, but the judge did not believe him.
Trump’s lawyers asked the judge for a directed verdict later in the trial when Cohen could not recall a specific item, which was not approved by Engoron. Upon a second request for a directed verdict, Engoron said “There’s enough evidence in this case to fill the courtroom.”
After hearing there would not be a directed verdict, Trump stormed out of the courtroom, much to the surprise of his lawyers and those in attendance. Secret Service chased after him before he eventually returned.
Before the trial began, Trump continued with the same storyline of the trial being a “political witch hunt,” while speaking with reporters.
“But we have the facts on our side, so the company is much stronger than they anticipated, much stronger than anyone really understood.”
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What’s Next: The trial ended Wednesday with Cohen on the stand. The case will resume at 10 a.m. ET Thursday.
Cohen addressed reporters outside the court on Wednesday.
“They wanted to make a motion to dismiss the case, to which the judge responded: ‘Yeah, absolutely not,’” Cohen said. “You know why? Because he will ultimately be held accountable.”
Cohen said the case was about accountability, something he also told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the trial.
“The only thing they know how to do is attack. Attack, attack, attack. That’s the Trump way. Denigrate, deflect and attack.”
Cohen was one of the key witnesses in the case. Other key witnesses still to testify include Trump’s older children Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump.
Trump was also expected to be the second to last to testify in the trial, with the last scheduled witness an expert on damages.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in penalties against Trump and his businesses and a ban on the former president being able to conduct business in the state of New York in the future.
The civil fraud trial could last until Dec. 22, 2023, according to a previous statement by the judge.
Along with testifying in this civil fraud trial, Cohen was also expected to testify in another case against Trump over alleged hush money payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen said he made the payment to Daniels during the 2016 election cycle on behalf of Trump.
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