#Trump’s #Trial in #NewYork #Civil #Fraud Case Begins
The trial is scheduled to last until the end of Dec but is expected to end sooner.
Trump arrived in the courtroom & strode past AG #LetitiaJames, seated in the first row, w/o making eye contact & immediately took a seat at the defense table.
While pool photographers took his picture at the defense table, looking solemn, in camera-ready way, Judge #Engoron looked amused.
Pool photographers were allowed in the #court room for a few minutes to take #Trump’s photo. Reporter Susanne Craig (whose Pulitzer winning NYT articles exposed the extent of Trump’s #tax #fraud) is in the overflow room of the courthouse watching a live feed, which has a camera trained on Trump & his legal team. As soon as the cameras were in front of Trump, he clenched his jaw & cocked his head up & to the side. His face looked like the mug shot that resulted after his arrest in Atlanta.
Kevin Wallace, a #lawyer for the AG, will deliver his side’s opening . Wallace has led the AG’s case from the beginning & has been the central lawyer at most of these proceedings, often clashing w/lawyers for #Trump.
Wallace, answers the question that everyone has asked since #Engoron ruled Trump #liable for #fraud: What remains for the AG’s office to prove? His team, he says, “will establish that the defendants engaged in repeated, persistent #illegal acts in the conduct of business.”
Which acts? The #falsification of #business #records & a #conspiracy to make those #false entries. The issuing of false #financial statements, & a conspiracy to issue those statements. And finally, #InsuranceFraud & the conspiracy to commit #insurance #fraud.
Before the proceedings began, a group of #demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse, carrying signs that read “No one is above the #law” & chanting, “#Trump #lies all the time.”
“We are here to uphold #democracy & make sure that it works,” said Jamie Bauer, 64.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/02/trump-fraud-trial-ny-2/
Jonah Bromwich NYT:
As I write these posts about “generally accepted accounting principles” & “materiality” it occurs to me that this opening statement is already deep in the #legal & #financial weeds where most of this #trial will take place. Were this a #jury trial, we might be getting a glossier, more exciting… opening statement. But perhaps because #Engoron is the arbiter of fact here, #Wallace seems to feel no qualms about a far more detailed, less flashy presentation.
Shayna Jacobs WaPo:
Wallace, #lawyer for the AG has a PowerPoint presentation going through its case, which Donald #Trump can see on a monitor in front of him.
The presentation played a portion of Trump son Eric’s videotaped #deposition from March 7, in which he told investigators he doesn’t remember signing any statements of #financial condition.
From last week’s #SummaryJudgement ruling on the #fact that #Trump is #liable for committing #fraud:
"Exacerbating defendants' obstreperous conduct is their continued reliance on bogus arguments, in papers & oral argument... That is a fantasy world, not the real world."
- JUDGE ARTHUR #ENGORON
#NY Supreme Court; 1st Judicial District
🔥🔥🔥
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23991862-engoron-decision-and-order-september-26
My thread last week on #Engoron’s #SummaryJudgement:
Woo Hoo! #Trump is found #liable for #fraud in #NewYork #civil case A #NY #judge ruled Donald Trump is liable for fraud for #exaggerating his #NetWorth by #billions of dollars a year on #financial #records submitted to #banks & #insurers, a major #victory for the state’s AG #TishJames before a high-stakes #civil #trial over remaining claims in the case. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-26/trump-found-liable-for-fraud-in-ny-attorney-general-s-case
Cohen’s testimony at a congressional hearing spurred James to open the investigation.
#Cohen is also a key #witness in 1 of Trump’s #criminal cases.
#Trump stared intently at the screen while the Cohen video played. Arms folded, shaking his head.
As James's case proceeded from investigative to #lawsuit, the public focused on particular assets’ inflated values. Wallace argued, to advance his case regarding the #conspiracy, the #assets were vehicles by which Trump burnished his overall net worth.
Wallace explained how the #financial statements were used. He tells a story of #Trump meeting w/a potential #lender, & the company sending an email afterward w/the statement attached & a note: “Hope you will be impressed.”
Wallace has moved on to why the #defendants concocted this #conspiracy. He argues that beyond just a place on the #ForbesBillionaireList, the defendants knew a high net worth was necessary to maintain #financial benefits, such as securing a #loan at a lower rate.
#Wallace, the attorney general's lawyer, is noting that the defendants received remarkably #favorable #InterestRates on the #loans for which they used the statements, & that they gained more than $250 million. The attorney general is asking the court to assess #Trump a penalty of that amount.
Wallace concludes, saying that while it may be one thing to exaggerate for #Forbes Magazine & a #television audience, “you cannot do it while conducting #business in the State of #NewYork.”
Christopher #Kise delivered the opening statement for #Trump. Kise had not really engaged directly w/the arguments about the specific #valuations made by the AG’s office.
As Kise began his opening statement, Trump appeared bored, yawning & fidgeting in his seat
Kise did not diverge from the party line, or his previous, unsuccessful arguments, at least so far.
#Kise used a slideshow. The first item noted that #Trump made “many billions of dollars being right about real estate investments” & the second stated that Trump’s is one of the most successful & highly recognized brands in the world.
Kise attacked #MichaelCohen as a serial liar, & says that the govt’s case hinges on him.
Kise didn’t provide any #evidence to support the claim that “Trump made billions in real estate” & didn’t mention the hundreds of millions #Trump #inherited from his father, Fred C. Trump, or the fortune he made from "#TheApprentice" #television show.
“President Trump did not make any false statements,” Kise read from a slide. He said that the AG’s estimates are speculative, which matters as they would determine the size of any #penalty #Trump would pay.
Kise made a potentially important distinction: He said the banks set the #loan terms based on their own due diligence, rather than the statements of #financial condition.
He concluded his opening argument & said bluntly that he disagrees w/ 1 of the judge’s rulings, & plans to #appeal it.
#Kise previewed some of the people who defense lawyers intend to call to testify on #Trump’s behalf, incl’g several #ExpertWitnesses on #valuation methods & people involved in #loan decisions. These are just a few of the 127 witnesses who were included on their witness list submitted last week.
Witness list reads like a #TrumpFamily (& company) reunion.
After the break, #Trump lawyer #AlinaHabba made an opening statement. She said she was not expecting to speak today until she saw comments from the AG & Kevin Wallace, the lawyer who delivered the state's opening.
Habba has a sense of showmanship & her opening was combative, & meant to appeal primarily to #Trump, not necessarily the judge.
Uuu, #DeutscheBank, the bank of the Putin connection.
Business World Columnist Holman Jenkins Jr. on an investigation into the German bank’s ties to Russian businessmen. Photo credit: Associated Press.
Nonilex
Antonio Páez 🇲🇽🇨🇦
Kevin Leecaster