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Donald Trump knows he can't win his New York fraud trial and is now treating it as a campaign rally, a legal expert has said.
New York University law professor Stephen Gillers told Newsweek that Trump will likely not take the stand in his four criminal trials, so his civil fraud trial is his big opportunity to reach out to his supporters.
Gillers spoke after Judge Arthur Engoron angrily accused Trump of making "speeches" from the stand and threatened to dismiss him as a witness.
Trump, his two eldest sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as The Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the $250 million civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is accusing the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills. The defendants in this case have denied all the charges.
While giving evidence on Monday, Trump accused Engoron of being among the "haters" who were out to get him.
"You and every other Democrat district attorney, A.G., and U.S. attorney were coming at me from 15 different sides, all Democrats, all haters," Trump told the judge.
"It's a mistake to think that Trump views the trial as an ordinary litigant would. An ordinary litigant's goal would be to win, or to lose as little as possible. While Trump may have that goal, too, he knows that Engoron is likely to impose harsh penalties whatever he does," Gillers said.
Knowing that he can't win the case has allowed Trump the opportunity to turn the trial into a campaign rally, Gillers believes.
"The main use of the trial for Trump is as an opportunity, with free media coverage, to promote himself and his candidacy and to attack his enemies. For Trump, the trial is secondarily a legal event, but primarily a campaign event. He won't be able to do this in the criminal cases because he will not testify in those," he said.
Newsweek sought comment via email on Wednesday morning from Trump's legal team.
There were heated exchanges between Engoron and Trump's lawyers on Monday when the judge accused the former president of making "speeches" from the witness stand.
Trump's chief attorney, Christopher Kise, stood and told the judge: "With this witness, it's far more efficient to listen and take it all in."
Engoron snapped at Kise, saying: "No. I'm not here to hear what he has to say. I'm here to hear him answer questions. Sit down."
Engoron then told Kise he had better rein in Trump's speech-making. "We got another speech. I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can't, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can," Engoron said.
Gillers said there is legal precedent for a judge to dismiss a witness if they are not being cooperative.
"Engoron could have dismissed Trump as a witness if Trump had persisted in refusing to answer questions. Then Engoron could have drawn negative inferences from that refusal.
"In other words, Engoron could have said in effect: 'Since you refuse to answer the questions, I assume this is because the answers would have been bad for your case and I will consider that in my verdict.' This did not happen, at least not yet," Gillers said.
Last month, Engoron ruled that Trump, his adult sons, their businesses, and executives committed fraud in their property evaluations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy claims. Engoron himself will rule on the charges, as Trump's legal team did not opt for a jury trial.
The former president has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly claimed the litigation was politically motivated.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more