Trump Takes the Stand

Former President Donald Trump testified yesterday for nearly four hours in a $250M civil fraud trial against him and his codefendants. The presiding judge previously ruled the Trump Organization overvalued its real estate assets and will now determine potential penalties.

The lawsuit, initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges Trump and his codefendants repeatedly inflated his net worth by as much as $3.6B between 2011 and 2021 to secure favorable terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies—Trump’s net worth is estimated to be around $2.6B as of September. Trump maintains his innocence, arguing asset valuations are highly subjective. When pressed on the financial documents at the heart of the case, he responded he would sometimes give input on the statements but leaned on the disclaimers that absolved him of responsibility for inaccuracies. See takeaways from the testimony here.

The case poses a threat to Trump's New York business operations, with James seeking to ban him and his sons from conducting business in the state and to dissolve his companies. Trump's legal team intends to file a mistrial.