A legal spokesperson for former President Donald Trump said that the judge in Trump’s civil fraud trial was trying to hush the former president because Trump’s explanations wrecked the case against him.
Trump and attorney Alina Habba clashed with Judge Arthur F. Engoron during the former president’s testimony Monday, with the judge threatening to remove Trump from the courtroom. Engoron ruled that Trump was liable for fraud Sept. 26, and ordered that several business licenses Trump held were to be rescinded, but an appeals court ruling stayed the order Oct. 6. (RELATED: Former Prosecutor Says Judge In ‘Farce’ Trump Trial Has ‘Lost Control Of His Courtroom’)
“There was a fiery exchange with the judge,” Habba told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “Frankly, I can’t even say it was with the judge and I… I’m very polite, I’m very professional when I’m in the courtroom, but the judge did not like him finishing or explaining because it wasn’t good for his case. He is interfering. He made his decision, let’s not forget that, Larry. He made a decision on summary judgment. He found liability already.”
WATCH:
Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York sued Trump in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings in order to obtain loans.
“We’re wasting all this time, and he won’t even let the president, who is the person they’re trying to get to, explain why he certified to certain values,” Habba said. “Why? Because the minute he starts to explain it, it ruins their case. He was worth more than his statement of financial conditions, and Miss James, her politics are not allowing to backtrack. She needs a PR team, I’m telling you.”
Real-estate experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Engoron’s ruling greatly undervalued Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate owned by Trump, which some considered to be worth more than $250,000,000.
“We are obviously going to move to completely dismiss this case. There should be a mistrial based on some of the things you mentioned today that I can’t talk about,” Habba added later. “There should be a mistrial here. Bias in general, I’ll say. There is a judicial code of ethics. Those ethics extend to the entire courtroom and when you violate the rules of judicial ethics there need to be certain things that hold you accountable.”
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