"Trump is really here as a spectator. He did not have to be here until Monday when he's expected to take the stand once again,"
An angry Donald Trump called New York Attorney General Letitia James a "lunatic" as he attended his $250 million fraud trial on Thursday.
The former president stopped to speak to reporters before entering the courtroom, where he attacked New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
"No matter all the evidence, that judge is going to rule in her favor," Trump complained. "He ruled against me before the case even started. He knew nothing, and he ruled against me."
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For the better part of two months, former President Donald Trump has made surprise and sporadic appearances inside a New York courthouse for his civil fraud trial. The latest falls as his defense case lurches toward a close.
On Thursday morning, Trump is expected to return to New York Supreme Court for the defense’s final expert witness: New York University research professor Eli Bartov, who focuses on accounting.
Bartov is expected to be the second-to-last witness, and Trump himself is anticipated to be the final witness on Monday.
If Bartov’s testimony concludes on Thursday, the trial is expected to be dark on Friday.
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Trump Lawyers Pissed To Discover That Their Failure To Plan Is Not The Court's Emergency Trump will have to answer questions about the actual allegations of fraud, rather than scream inanities about the law clerk.
- So all this testimony about Bartov’s credentials — which is ongoing — is meant to establish his bonafide and impressive expertise. From Goldman Sachs, where he has lectured, to the SEC and a variety of academic and accounting groups in between, Eli Bartov is a man in demand.
- (For the non-lawyers following along: What Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez is doing now is normal and routine. An expert must be qualified by the court with the scope of his/her expertise defined.)
- That’s very different context than that of the Trump Organization, which is entirely privately held & the statements were compilations. (Put another way, the alleged fraud would have been much easier to conceal from accountants and lenders alike.)
- But it sounds like his work focused on 1) audited financial statements in the 2) context of publicly-traded stock, as in the Enron example he just gave.
- Bartov has written about financial reporting misconduct in the context of investors’ ability to detect fraud on the basis of public information.
- He testified that he has also published many papers about financial reporting in capital markets and that in recognition of his body of work, he has been honored by a leading accounting organization.
- But he also explains that both in his consulting practice and as an academic, he has written about valuation, including that of real estate.