New York, Nov 6: Donald Trump began testifying on Monday morning in his civil fraud trial, producing a spectacle of a former president and the leading Republican presidential candidate defending himself against allegations that he dramatically inflated his net worth.
His turn on the witness stand, in a case that cuts to the heart of the business brand he spent decades crafting, amounts to a remarkable convergence of his legal troubles and his political ventures.
The testimony gives him the opportunity to try to use the witness stand as a campaign platform as he eyes a return to the White House while facing multiple criminal indictments, but its under-oath format, before a judge who has already fined him for incendiary comments outside of court, creates clear peril for a businessman and candidate famous for a freewheeling rhetorical display.
“It’s going to be a stunning moment. This is dramatic enough if he was simply an ex-president facing these charges. But the fact that he is the overwhelming favourite to run the GOP, it makes this a staggering Monday,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Trump arrived in court soon before 9:30 on Monday, posting social media broadsides earlier in the morning against the judge presiding over the case and the state attorney general’s office that brought the lawsuit.
“It is a very sad situation for our country,” he told reporters outside court, calling his critics thugs.
The courtroom at 60 Centre St. has already become a familiar destination for Trump. He has spent hours over the last month voluntarily seated at the defense table, observing the proceedings. Trump once took the stand – unexpectedly and briefly – after he was accused of violating a partial gag order. Trump denied any violation, but Judge Arthur Engoron disagreed and fined him anyway.
The vast majority of his speaking has happened outside the courtroom, where he has taken full advantage of the bank of assembled media to voice his outrage and spin the days’ proceedings in the most favourable way.
He will also come face-to-face with Engoron, whom he has lambasted on social media in recent days. (AP)
