Trump lawyer's freakout over Judge Engoron passing notes ridiculed by ex-prosecutor

Tom Boggioni
November 3, 2023 12:42PM ET



(MSNBC screenshot)


Reacting to one of Donald Trump's highly paid lawyers complaining about Judge Arthur Engoron and his senior clerk passing notes during the $250 million financial fraud trial, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade couldn't help but laugh while appearing on MSNBC.

On Thursday, Trump attorney Christopher Kise complained about the notes being shared by the jurist and law clerk, Allison Greenfield, which led to a fiery exchange in which Engoron accused the Trump legal team of misogyny.

Appearing on MSNBC with host Ana Cabrera, McQuade smirked and laughed at Kise's courthouse shenanigans while Eric Trump was testifying.


"You know, I think he's counting on his lawyers to be the ones who are the heavies here" she said of Trump. "And so whenever they are complaining about the clerk, this is, I think, all about creating a narrative that the trial was unfair to Donald Trump."

"You know, the clerk is passing notes to the judge," she added before laughing, "Of course the clerk is passing notes to the judge — that's what clerks do! They are there to help the judge and assist with legal issues and be their eyes and ears while the judge is focused on the case."

"The clerk is observing other things and sharing information with the judge," she elaborated. "To suggest that that is somehow nefarious, I think, is just building a record so that Donald Trump can later say, 'Look, the deck was stacked against me, the court and staff were biased.' That is just based on a house of cards."

Watch below or at the link.




https://www.rawstory.com/trump-lawyers-engoron/

 

Oh really, American hater?
It's acceptable for James to attack Trump?
Did you check the Bar association web site for that before you spewed your bullshit?

Five Ethics Rules Every Prosecutor Should Know – North Carolina Criminal Law (unc.edu)

5. A prosecutor should not publicly comment before trial on the possibility that the defendant will plead guilty, the results of any examinations or tests, the contents of any statement given by the defendant, or the character, credibility, reputation, or criminal record of the defendant or a witness. And, while a prosecutor may publicly state that a named defendant has been charged with a crime, the prosecutor should include a statement explaining that the charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

Eric Trump insists Mar-a-Lago is a private residence — but evidence shows otherwise

Travis Gettys
November 3, 2023 12:29PM ET



Former President Donald Trump's son and co-defendant, Eric Trump, middle, attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in New York. - Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS


Eric Trump insisted during testimony in a New York fraud trial that his father's Mar-a-Lago resort was a private residence and not a club.

State attorney Andrew Amer questioned Donald Trump's second son for more than an hour Friday morning about the valuation of the former president's property in Palm Beach, Florida, and he testified that he was unaware that the club had been valued for tax purposes as a commercial property that was used as a social club, reported ABC News.

"It is very clear that Mar-a-Lago is not a club, it is a private residence," Trump testified. "I don't see anything wrong with that, 100 percent."

However, previous testimony and documents entered into evidence showed the property was restricted on the deed to club usage, but the ex-president overvalued the resort by listing it as something that could be sold as a private residence.



Judge Arthur Engoron determined before the start of the trial that Mar-a-Lago was overvalued by 2,300 percent.

Amer finished his questioning by asking Trump directly about the $2 million severance agreement between the Trump Organization and former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.

READ MORE: Donald Trump has a new reason to plead the 5th after his son's testimony: expert

"Did you participate in the business agreement to enter into this business decision with Mr. Weisselberg?" Amer asked.

"Yes," Eric Trump said.

"Did your father direct you to enter into this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg?" Amer asked.

"No, he did not," Eric Trump replied. "I did this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg."



https://www.rawstory.com/eric-trump-testify/

 

It is not a good idea for a defendant to anger the judge. Trump is too stupid, too ignorant, and too impulsive to understand that. He is about to learn, big time.

 

Trump gag order expanded to cover attorneys after court gets hundreds of threats: report

Matthew Chapman
November 3, 2023 3:55PM ET



(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)


New York Judge Arthur Engoron has expanded the gag order against former President Donald Trump to also cover his attorneys, reported Forbes on Friday.

The move came after Engoron said the court has received "hundreds" of threats as Trump has attacked him, state prosecutors and the court clerk.

Trump has already been fined $15,000 for two separate cases of violating the gag order — both of which involved the judge's clerk, who the former president claims is "partisan." On the second occasion, Trump tried to claim his comments were actually directed at his former attorney Michael Cohen, then a witness in the trial. Engoron did not buy his explanation.



On Thursday, he suggested he was mulling banning lawyers after Trump attorney Christopher Kisemade another comment about the clerk.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has alleged in the trial that Trump and his two adult sons have systematically lied about the value of their business, the Trump Organization, and even the square footage of their properties in order to fraudulently obtain better loan deals and other financial considerations.

Trump's sons have claimed they did not have involvement in those valuations, while Trump has defended them as good-faith subjective estimates and said that the loans were all repaid, making it a moot point.

James is seeking $250 million in fines and a ban on the Trump's from doing business in the state of New York.

Engoron has already ruled in summary judgment that the Trumps did engage in a pattern of fraudulent behavior, making the current trial primarily a matter of assessing damages against the Trump family.


https://www.rawstory.com/trump-gag-order-2666142954/

 

Trump lawyer cites Breitbart report as reason for mistrial — and courtroom laughs

Kathleen Culliton
November 3, 2023 11:29AM ET



(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)


Donald Trump’s attorney said he might pursue a mistrial in the $250 million fraud trial because a right wing media website accused a New York City law clerk of bias, a new report shows.

Chris Kise told Judge Arthur Engoron Friday morning he was disturbed by a Breitbart report alleging bias against the clerk, who was the subject of a heated debate between the pair the night before, ABC News reports.

"I think the defense will have to give serious consideration to seeking a mistrial," Kise said.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

"It's not information, it's an allegation," Engoron said of the report, about a “random individual” with “accusations of partisan political activity.”

An attorney from Attorney General Letitia James’s office accused Kise of being frivolous, especially since he appears not to have been able immediately to name the website that published the report.

"I'm not the internet person,” Kise said. "I want to say it is on Breitbart, maybe? It's on a news outlet.”

According to ABC News, this description of Breitbart spurred onlookers to laugh.



https://www.rawstory.com/chris-kise-mistrial/

 

Most legal experts are just stunned. Trump's ploy is to just be combative. But in the process he contradicts himself and also makes confessions. He can't see his big mouth is no match for Letitia James and the other prosecutors that are sticking to the facts and documents.


Trump is trying to use it for more ill gotten political gains. When the prosecution is concerned with proving his financial ill gotten gains so the judge can figure out how much that is going to cost him. And the judge has already said he is being evasive on the stand. A key to help decide the amount of damages.



'Control your client': Judge Engoron delivers ultimatum to Trump lawyers

Kathleen Culliton
November 6, 2023 10:57AM ET



Donald Trump (Photo by Gage Skidmore on Flickr)


Former President Donald Trump almost immediately infuriated the New York City judge overseeing his civil fraud case when he took the witness stand Monday morning, according to reporters in the courtroom.

"Can you control your client," Judge Arthur Engoron barked at attorney Chris Kise. "This is not a political rally."

Kise pulled his client's rank in response, according to CNN reporter Lisa Rubin.

"[Let the] former and future chief executive of the United States [respond]," Kise reportedly said.



Politico reporter Erica Orden said Trump's answers sparked ire from the judge because they weren't "responsive" to questions from Kevin Wallace, a lawyer from the New York Attorney General's office.

In her $250 million lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump of fraudulently inflating the worth of the Trump Organization to secure better deals on loans.

Trump denies wrongdoing.



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-testimony-2666163601/

 

Laughter in courtroom after Trump says 'I've got more money than you thought': report

David Edwards
November 6, 2023 12:21PM ET



Former President Donald Trump appears in court Wednesday for his civil fraud trial at the New York State Supreme Court. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images


Laughter could reportedly be heard in a New York courtroom on Monday after former President Donald Trump claimed he had "more money than you thought."

Trump's statement came during a question about the value of his Aberdeen golf club in his $250 million fraud trial.

The former president told the court that he opposed additional buildings at Aberdeen because of nearby windmills.



"I'm not a windmill person," he said, according to Matthew Russell of Inner City Press. "There's nothing wrong with sitting and waiting, if you have the money. And I've got a lot of money, more than you thought."

The courtroom reacted with laughter, the report said.



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-courtroom-laughter/

 

It appears to be working.
Saw an article offering up the opinion that Trump knew months ago that the trial was fixed.
He was going to lose, guaranteed, cause James and Engoron were in cahoots and determined to get Trump.
And indeed, every indication is that while James plays the dedicated hard working defender of the people for the media, Engoron scowls and growls every time a Trump lawyer, or Trump himself, scratches.

So the plan was to step up to, but not over that magical line of impropriety. Poke at the judges clerk who, you know, might be fucking a democratic senator, but don't actually say such a thing.
Question the judge on his objectivity, but don't say it.
Now if they push just right there's a good chance Engoron will toss Trump in the jail under the courtroom.
Shooter thinks Trump would relish that.
Why, he'd probably instantly gain another 10 points in the polls and get another $100 Million in donations.

Annoy, but don't be annoying.
Understand?

Because, this case is going to be appealed.
And when it is, Trump can point to endless snarling on Engoron's part, and his ill advised pre trial summary judgement ruling that was promptly enjoined, and (be still my heart) the asshole judge stepping right over the line and jailing a former President of the United States for exercising free speech.
Or whatever.

 

Oops! Trump Appears to Dig His Own Grave in Fraud Trial Testimony
Tori Otten
Mon, November 6, 2023 at 10:03 AM MST·1 min read
2.2k

• 
  

Donald Trump seemed unable Monday to stop exposing the extent of his involvement with his company’s business fraud.

Trump took the stand in the civil fraud trial, in which he and his associates are accused of gaining more than $100 million by fraudulently inflating the value of their real estate assets. Trump immediately revealed he was involved in the wrongdoing.

First, Trump admitted that he looked at the documents stating the value of his different properties.


“I would look at them, I would see them, and I would maybe on occasion have some suggestions,” he said.

He then admitted he had lowered the value of Seven Springs, a property in Westchester County, New York. “I thought it was high,” he explained, essentially again revealing his close involvement in financial statements.

When asked about an amount that was changed on a 2017 document, Trump said he had “probably” requested the change because he felt that value was too high.

Trump’s repeated admissions are not a good look for the former president, to put it mildly. They show he was aware of the Trump Organization’s fraudulent practices, and it’ll be much harder for him to pin all the fraud on someone else. New York Times reporter Jonah Bromwich suggested that Trump seemed not to realize that his statements are “damning.”

The trial is really just to set damages in the case. Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron determined in September that Trump committed fraud. Engoron ordered that all Trump’s New York business certificates be canceled, making it nearly impossible to do business in the state and effectively killing the Trump Organization.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/oops-trump-appears-dig-own-170305507.html

 

Trump is 'playing into NY AG's hands' with 'off the rails' trial raging: ex-prosecutor

Tom Boggioni
November 6, 2023 11:40AM ET



Donald R Trump (Photo by Frederic J. Brown for AFP)


Appearing on CNN, former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland was stunned by Donald Trump's actions and words in the first hour of his testimony in the $250 million financial fraud trial.

As reports trickled in about the former becoming immediately combative when asked simple questions, which led Judge Arthur Engoron to implore the former president's lawyer to "control" him, Saland claimed New York Attorney General Letitia James, an observer in the courtroom, has to be pleased.

Speaking with hosts Kate Bolduan and John Berman, Saland said that "the bottom line here is that this is playing into the attorney general's hands."



"This is what they want," he said of the AG's office. "They are not here to debate politics and what is going to happen outside of the courtroom in the election, but the four corners of the courtroom and whether they can prove their case."

"And going on tirades and talking about big bankers and going after the judge does nothing for his credibility, does nothing to dispute the evidence, does not bring new facts and evidence into play, so all of this really hurts Donald Trump," he continued.

"You don't have to be a former mental professional, but I do wonder if the former president understands the gravity of what he is doing," he suggested. "And I think, also, at the same time he is more afraid of this case because he thinks that the other matters, he is not going to ever see a day in jail and it doesn't really matter. This is his name and this is his future and he is going off of the rails from what we are hearing inside of the courtroom."

Watch the video below or at this link.





https://www.rawstory.com/trump-trial-testimony-2666163726/

 

I am sure Letitia James could not be more pleased. Trump was so busy ranting and raving he couldn't even see the prosecution setting him up and getting him to confess to the key elements of the fraud case. And he just kept making a fool himself.


Letitia James seen 'visibly cackling' at Trump insult from witness stand

Travis Gettys
November 6, 2023 1:11PM ET



MSNBC


New York Attorney General Letitia James burst into laughter at one of Donald Trump's insults during his testimony in a $250 million fraud lawsuit.

The former president was asked about the value of his heavily mortgaged Trump Building at 40 Wall Street, and he told prosecutor Kevin Wallace that he had invested heavily in the 72-story skyscraper before taking a swipe at the attorney general.

"I spent a lot of money on fixing the building up," Trump testified. "She doesn't even know what 40 Wall Street is."

James was "visibly cackling" after Trump's remark, according to reporters in the courtroom, and she briefly put her head down to compose herself.


The attorney general's office is next door to the Trump Building, and James pointed that out in a post on her X account.

"Don’t tell, I can see it from my office window," she posted.










NY AG James
@NewYorkStateAG
·
Follow
Don’t tell, I can see it from my office window.









Hugo Lowell
@hugolowell
Trump snipes at NYAG James: “She doesn’t know what a 40 Wall Street is”



https://www.rawstory.com/letitia-james-donald-trump-2666165112/

 

Just another developer fraudster: Report says Trump's judge isn't playing political game

Kathleen Culliton
November 2, 2023 12:36PM ET



(Shutterstock)


The New York City judge who holds former president Donald Trump's financial future in his hands isn't fazed because he’s taken on developers trying to flout the law before, according to a new report.

“I do not consider this trial political at all,” Judge Arthur Engoron told the Wall Street Journal. The only question, he said, is whether Trump violated state law.

The former taxi driver, 74, has already proven his mettle both during the trial — where Trump faces a $250 million fraud lawsuit from Attorney General Letitia James — and before.

Engoron hasn’t been afraid to fine Trump for repeatedly violating a gag order prohibiting speech against courtroom staff — despite being a staunch supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union’s free speech protections — or to lay down the law with the former president’s lawyers, the report notes.

Nor has Trump’s former residence in the White House stopped Engoron from ruling him liable for fraud over property valuations and standing by that decision.

When Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise Wednesday tried to argue $168 million in lost interest didn’t constitute “ill-gotten gains,” Engoron snapped back, "I decided.”



Richard Leland, a Manhattan realty lawyer familiar with Engoron’s courtroom manner, told the Wall Street Journal Engoron isn’t really scared of any risk.

“I don’t think he’s looking over his shoulder all the time as some judges are,” Leland said. “I don’t think he’s afraid to go out on a limb.”

Talking straight has never been a problem for Engoron, the Wall Street Journal notes. As evidence, see exhibit A, a response he levied in a civil court case between former employee and employer.

“The earth is frying; buildings are collapsing; the Middle East is in flames; the Covid-19 pandemic is raging; and almost half the country does not accept the legitimacy of the current president,” Engoron wrote in his decision. “The time has come to end this legal bloodletting.”



https://www.rawstory.com/arthur-engoron/

 

It was really interesting yesterday. The judge and prosecution started out trying to make Trump behave like a normal witness. Which is impossible because Trump is mentally ill. So it was the judge and especially the prosecution that changed their tactics. They just let Trump rant and rave attack and insult. Which he relished. But was unable to see when he walked right into confessing. All Trump had was his delusions. While the prosecution has documents names dates and places. And all they had to prove to a judge is Trump knew he was committing fraud.

Here's an example.


Lawrence O’Donnell Reveals The 1 Word From Trump That ‘Destroyed’ His Defense
Ed Mazza
Updated Tue, November 7, 2023 at 5:43 AM MST·1 min read


MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell said Donald Trump managed to utter “the stupidest possible thing he could say” while on the witness stand in his civil fraud trial in New York.

“Because Donald Trump is one of the very stupidest people to be charged with business fraud, and because his demonstrably ineffectual lawyers obviously do not have the skills to prepare their client for even the simplest and most obvious questions, Donald Trump incriminated himself and his children with the only one-word answer that he gave all day,” O’Donnell said on Monday night.

The word came in response to a question about who in the Trump Organization was responsible for preventing and detecting fraud.

“Everybody,” Trump said.

“And there, Donald Trump destroyed any shred of defense in the case for himself and his co-defendants, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump,” O’Donnell said. “You can spend weeks trying to think of a stupider answer than that, and you cannot come up with one.”

O’Donnell pointed out that Judge Arthur Engoron has already determined that Trump committed fraud for years. The main question now is how much of a penalty they will face, potentially up to $250 million.

As a witness, Trump’s job was to make the judge think the fraud wasn’t his fault or the fault of his sons and blame his accountants, which could potentially soften the penalty.

Instead, Trump “incriminated himself and his kids,” O’Donnell said.

See his full analysis below:




https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawrence-o-donnell-reveals-1-071044456.html

 

“Astonishing admission”: Experts say Trump’s “train wreck” testimony damaged his chances at appeal
Igor Derysh
Tue, November 7, 2023 at 7:00 AM MST·4 min read
1.5k



Donald Trump Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

• 
  

Former President Donald Trump’s rambling testimony at his New York fraud trial on Monday bodes poorly for his chances of appealing the judge’s ruling, legal experts say.

Trump testified for hours at the trial, which is set to determine the scope of punishment he, his two oldest sons and his company should face after Judge Arthur Engoron issued a partial summary judgment prior to the trial finding them liable of persistent fraud. Trump’s lawyers appealed the ruling and have sought to lay the groundwork for additional motions throughout the trial.

Even Trump’s antics in court on Monday appeared to be an effort to try to “goad” Engoron into “some sort of mistake” or say something that could help his team on appeal, former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg told MSNBC.

“Judge Engoron is an experienced jurist, I don’t think that has happened yet and I don’t see that happening,” he said. “From a theatrical perspective, maybe this plays in some other venue. From a legal perspective, this does not play in court,” he added.


“For all of his attacks, there was one key thing missing from Trump’s testimony, which is any semblance of a colorable defense, and that is Donald Trump through and through,” former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told MSNBC on Tuesday, adding that the former president was clearly “trying to provoke the judge.”

Trump was “successful today by his metric because we’re talking more about his behavior and his temper tantrums than we are about the fact that the guy committed serious fraud,” he said. “So, it’s a distraction technique, and in some ways, it’s working. It obviously won’t work in the court of law, though.”







When Trump did answer the attorney general’s team’s questions, he made “important concessions” that may have further damaged his case, former federal prosecutor Elie Honig told CNN.

“To me, the most important sentence of the day, Trump said something like, ‘I saw those statements, I reviewed them, and at times I gave input.’ And it was a quick little moment, but that’s something that I think the AG’s office is gonna latch onto because he acknowledges he knew them and knew enough to give input into those statements,” he said, according to Mediaite.

“I think his testimony was inherently contradictory and a mess, but there’s some real useful pieces in there for the AG’s office,” Honig added.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, who served on special counsel Bob Mueller’s team, noted that the AG’s counsel got Trump to agree that the financial statements and Trump’s personal guaranty at the heart of the trial were to “induce banks to lend money.”

“Not only is this an astonishing admission, it will damage efforts to argue on appeal that the judge was wrong to grant judgement ahead of trial on the fraud claims,” tweeted former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance. “That is pretty much Trump's last gasp at saving his NY business.”

Former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg pointed out that Trump’s lawyers are laying the groundwork for appeal by arguing that the valuations listed in the financial statements were not to be taken at face value while arguing that those statements were still good-faith estimates of Trump’s properties.

"They were laying the record for an appeal with a lot of defense — these weren't material misstatements, nobody relied on the misstatements," Greenberg told CNN. "Again, I think, legally they're not on solid ground there... this idea of good faith, we acted in good faith, that will be something else that they raise on appeal."

The problem for Trump, Greenberg said, is that “a lot of these examples are egregious.”

"This isn't a matter of, 'Well, there's some wiggle room here.' If anybody were to go in and seek a loan from their bank and say, 'Well, my house or my apartment is three times the size of what it is, and 400 percent valued higher than what it is,' like, that's fraud,” she said. “That's not, ‘oh, we got some of the accounting principles wrong.’ That's just plain fraud, and so I don't think he really is going to have much room to succeed on appeal.





https://www.yahoo.com/news/court-artist-covering-trumps-trial-160815085.html

 

When Barack Obama was born a news paper in Hawaii mentioned his birth in Hawaii.