Reporters’ flashes flashed as Trump strode into the courtroom, accompanied by lawyers and associates. Asked by a reporter if he was looking forward to testifying, the former US president gave a first taste of what was to come in the courtroom. “Yes Yeshe replied. “While Israel is under attack, while Ukraine is under attack, while inflation is eating our country alive, I’m down here. And all of them are political rivals. Defamation attack by the Biden administration. Their polls are dire. We saw what happened today. The New York Times and CBS put out a poll that says I’m ahead everywhere. But it’s a very unfair situation. This is really election interference. That’s all. This lawsuit is ridiculous».
Attacks on headquarters
During the hearing, the atmosphere was electrifying, according to CNN and New York Times reporters. Judge Arthur Engoron sternly asked Trump and his team to answer the prosecution’s questions directly instead of giving reasons. “This is not a political gathering, this is a court” told them. He repeatedly called on Trump’s lawyer, Chris Keese, to restrain his client. “His answers are not only inadequate, but he keeps repeating them, we have no time to waste, we have a day for this witness». But it didn’t seem to fall on Trump’s ear, who attacked the judge, the US judiciary and the current New York Attorney General Leticia James, accusing her of being a Democrat soldier and should be ashamed of herself.
At stake in the trial is the future of the 77-year-old Trump’s business empire. The prosecution accuses him, as well as his sons and employees, of manipulating the value of the Trump Organization for years in order to get more favorable loans and insurance policies. As Judge Arthur Engoron has already confirmed the charge, now all that remains is to determine the sentences. However, Trump, who testified under oath for the first time, implicitly admitted to the charges, claiming that a number of properties, including his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, were worth far more than was publicly known but had been undervalued by the court. .
Leads in 5 of 6 key states
Moreover, as he said, there was no loss, the banks took back their loans and they were paid in full. At some points in his testimony, Trump thought they were in a televised debate with Judge Engoron calling on his lawyer to “collect». Trump does not face prison time, nor will the outcome of the trial affect his 2024 presidential bid, but a conviction would certainly cost him financially. Attorney General Kevin Wallace has requested the payment of $250 million and a ban on doing business in New York. It is unclear whether, if convicted, he would have to return properties such as New York’s famous Trump Tower.
In any case, in the latest polls, Trump leads in 5 of the 6 states that are considered key to a candidate’s electoral success, exactly one year before the next US election. In this light, he is using the trial as a field for an election campaign, claiming that he is the victim of a political conspiracy. “People don’t realize how good a businessman I am and how good the business I’ve built is».
