Trump on Trial

Former President Trump takes the witness stand on a $250 million civil fraud trial at New York presided by Justice Arthur Engoron. Here’s what you need to know and what’s going on:

It seems that the tension that’s been going on between the Judge and the former President for some time now after Trump criticized the judge in public and labeled the entire trial as a political charge is still up in the air. The judge during the testimony of Trump had repeatedly counseled his lawyer to control the former President’s courtroom behavior advising Trump to be responsive to the questions that are thrown at him. There’s no jury on this case, the decision will come solely from Judge Engoron.

The core issue that the New York Attorney General Tish James is trying to establish in this trial are the allegations that Trump and his sons and their business colleagues filed fraudulent documents for insurance and tax advantages. Also on the table is the allegation that Trump inflated his financial documents that directly affects his net worth between 2014 and 2021. Justice Engoron had already ruled a pre-trial assumption that Trump is liable for fraud that pertains to his net worth, so basically what we’re going to see on this trial are the monetary penalties that Trump and the names on the list will need to comply on. The other angle that the prosecutors may look on will be on how involved Trump is when it comes to financial decisions and how this relates and connects to the decisions that his sons and other people named on the lawsuit. The gag order on Trump preventing him from criticizing the Justice law clerk Allison Greenfield is still active however Trump doesn’t have any gag order on the Judge, but the fact that the judge has a bearing on this case can definitely change the legal decisions and strategies that Trump and his lawyer may employ.