Former President Donald Trump sparred with a New York judge early and often Monday as he testified in a civil trial that could threaten his real estate empire and offered a preview of the legal drama that awaits the Republican front-runner as he campaigns for a 2024 rematch with President Biden.
Anyone who thought the outspoken former president would tone down his voice in the wood-paneled Manhattan courtroom was wrong from the start. He lashed out at New York Attorney General Letitia James from the witness stand, said his Florida club is worth more than $1 billion and claimed his campaign fundraised off it all.
The scene exasperated Judge Arthur Engoron, who reminded the former president that the courtroom was “not a political rally” and told him to keep his answers concise.
“He always rules against me,” Mr. Trump said of the judge, who will determine whether the Trump Organization engaged in financial fraud and should pay penalties.
Mr. Trump’s cameo at the New York courthouse offered a sneak peek at how his courthouse campaign, as some call it, will unfold in the coming year as he faces an onslaught of criminal trials with potentially more considerable consequences.
The scene contrasted sharply with more traditional campaigning by his nearest Republican primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who went to Des Moines on Monday for a rally with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Mr. Trump’s legal woes haven’t dimmed his political prospects in the Republican race, where he leads his nearest opponent by 40 to 50 percentage points in polls.
“With every new legal indictment or setback that Trump has faced during the campaign, his national and early state polling numbers have only increased over the rest of the field,” said Aaron Kall, the director of debate at the University of Michigan. “Trump has similarly not paid a political penalty by skipping several high-profile primary debates.”
He said Republican rivals might attack an absent Mr. Trump over his foreign policy during Wednesday night’s debate in Miami, though not over his business dealings.
“Though not technically an incumbent, Trump is viewed as such by many supporters who don’t have a lot of faith in the country’s legal system and really appreciate someone who continually fights the establishment on their behalf,” Mr. Kall said.
During five hours of testimony, with some breaks, the former president defended himself and his business against the lawsuit from Ms. James that alleges he submitted fraudulent financial statements to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance.
Mr. Trump said the civil case and looming criminal trials related to classified documents and the 2020 election are part of a coordinated plot to thwart his presidential bid. In answers to questions on Monday, he attempted to inject the campaign into the proceedings as polls showed him dominating the Republican field and neck and neck with Mr. Biden.
“I would like things to move along a little faster. Please answer the questions, no speeches,” the judge said. “This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom.”
When testimony settled into a normal rhythm, Mr. Trump was calm and opined on the values of golf courses, his Trump Tower apartment and his club at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he is now a permanent resident.
Wearing a navy suit, blue shirt and blue tie, the former president downplayed the significance of financial statements at the heart of the case. He pointed to a disclaimer that he said amounted to telling recipients to do their own calculations.
“Banks didn’t find them very relevant, and they had a disclaimer clause — you would call it a worthless statement clause,” he said. After decades in real estate, he said, “I probably know banks as well as anybody. … I know what they look at. They look at the deal, they look at the location.”
Mr. Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified last week that they relied on accountants and legal advisers to produce the financial statements at the heart of the case.
Their father testified that “all I did was authorize and tell people to give whatever is necessary for the accountants to do the statements,” he said. “I would look at [the results], I would see them, and maybe on some occasions, I would have some suggestions.”
Before the trial, Judge Engoron ruled that Mr. Trump and his business committed some fraud, handing Ms. James an early victory in the case. The trial is considering other claims and possible penalties.
Ms. James said members of the Trump family were aware of the alleged fraud because they provided the information and figures that professionals used to draft the financial forms.
“I think this is a political witch hunt, and she should be ashamed of herself,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. James. “This is the opposite of fraud. The fraud is her.”
Ms. James responded on X that Mr. Trump provided “rambling answers and hurled insults from the witness stand to distract from the truth.”
“But make no mistake, he committed fraud. Numbers and facts don’t lie,” she wrote.
The former president is sensitive to attacks on his wealth and namesake business.
Mr. Trump built his political brand by highlighting his rise as a wealthy real estate mogul. He said he understood money, power and the machinery of the world better than any of his rivals. He even played a wealthy boss on television. NBC’s “The Apprentice” offered him a broad audience for years before his 2016 presidential campaign.
His court appearance drew a large crowd to the Manhattan courthouse. Some reporters waited overnight for a spot in the room.
During questioning, Mr. Trump tried to explain why one financial statement listed his Trump Tower penthouse as three times its actual size.
He said it was possible “we made a mistake.” He hypothesized that someone working for him multiplied the square footage of each Trump Tower floor — about 10,000 square feet — by three, without subtracting the size of elevator shafts and other non-apartment space.
Mr. Trump said the inflated size also may have resulted from adding Trump Tower’s roof. “I have the roof, you know, we have access to the roof, which is very big,” he testified.
Mr. Trump has testified in court in at least eight trials since 1986, according to an Associated Press review, and has been questioned under oath in more than a dozen depositions and regulatory hearings.
Mr. Trump’s campaign fundraised off his latest testimony.
“Can you believe I have to once again spend yet another day of the election cycle in the courthouse?” the message said. “We are watching the ruling party weaponize the legal system to try and destroy its leading opponent by any means possible – whether that be removing my name from the ballot, financial ruin, or even imprisonment. This is how dictatorships are born.”
Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is scheduled to testify Wednesday.
Ms. Trump is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but Judge Engoron ruled that her testimony could be relevant because of past business in New York.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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