Donald Trump Rages Letitia James Has No 'Smoking Gun'

Donald Trump slammed the New York attorney general's office for having no "smoking gun" evidence in the $250 million fraud lawsuit against him.

Prosecutors wrapped up their arguments Wednesday after Attorney General Letitia James and her team called 25 witnesses to testify in their civil case, which accuses Trump, his two eldest sons and other members of the Trump Organization of repeatedly inflating their company's assets for tax reasons and other financial benefits. The former president, who testified in court Monday, has denied the allegations and called the trial politically motivated.

Because the lawsuit is civil, not criminal, no defendant will face jail time, but the judge will decide on the $250 million in penalties James is seeking and whether to ban Trump from doing real estate business in the state.

"The New York State Judicial System is under attack because of the way the bogus A.G. 'case' has played out," Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social Thursday morning. "It's a giant SCAM, with no 'smoking gun,' No Victim (except me!), and absolutely no crime."

Judge Arthur Engoron, who has already ruled that Trump and his co-defendants committed fraud, has heard testimony from Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, who were all pressed by prosecutors about their knowledge of their father's financial statements, which are at the heart of the fraud case.

Reached for comment, James' office told Newsweek to see a video statement the attorney general posted Wednesday evening to X (formerly Twitter). In it, she said that Ivanka Trump's testimony earlier in the day was proof that the Trump Organization committed "fraudulent business practices and that they were used to enrich [Trump] and his company."

"We rested our case today," James went on. "Next, the defense will present their case. As we have shown, and as the judge has already ruled, Donald Trump and his company committed repeated fraud. I am confident that we will prevail on the rest of our case because the facts don't lie."

James' office also brought in Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, who previously pleaded guilty to tax crimes and campaign violations in connection with hush payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In another case, the former president is facing criminal charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office for falsifying business records in the hush money scheme.

"Their only witness, already convicted felon Michael Cohen, crumbled like nothing I have ever seen before," Trump's post said. "He ADMITTED HE LIED, AND THEN ADMITTED THAT I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, TOLD HIM TO INFLATE THE NUMBERS!!!"

He went on: "Everybody thinks that this political Witch Hunt should END TODAY. It is an embarrassment to New York...And Remember Mar-a-Lago!!!"

While on the witness stand, Cohen stumbled through his answers after several hours of cross-examination by Trump's defense team, including backtracking on his allegation that Trump had ordered him to inflate the value of his real estate assets. Cohen later corrected himself, saying that while Trump never told him directly to do this, the former president "speaks like a mob boss."

"He tells you what he wants without specifically telling you," Cohen said.

Trump's team attacked Cohen's testimony, charging that he told "lie after lie" on the witness stand. Trump family lawyer Clifford Robert also asked for a "directed verdict" after his cross-examination of Cohen, which was swiftly denied by Engoron.

"There's enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom," Engoron told Trump's defense team, adding that he did not view Cohen as a "key witness" in the trial.

Trump's legal team will present its defense on Monday.

Update 11/9/23, 12:56 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from New York State Attorney General Letitia James in a video statement.