Trump Attorney Accuses 'Unhinged' Judge of Trying to 'Silence' Ex-Prez in $250 Million Fraud Trial
Nov. 6 2023, Published 4:56 p.m. ET
Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba unleashed on Judge Arthur Engoron after a heated day in court, RadarOnline.com has learned, telling reporters that her client was painted as guilty before "we even walked into this courtroom."
Habba highlighted that Engoron declared he was "not here to hear what [Trump] has to say," claiming the judge had already predetermined that her client committed fraud.
"Why exactly am I being paid as an attorney and why exactly are taxpayer dollars being used," Habba said during a break in the proceedings on Monday, claiming she was subjected to behavior she would never tolerate in other circumstances.
She then railed against New York Attorney General Letitia James for trying to "make a name for herself" by calling Trump a "liar." James, for her part, had predicted that Trump would "engage in name-calling, taunts and race-baiting" while trying to win the case.
"At the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friend, don't lie," James said.
Habba fired back and said James' numbers didn't lie when she ran for governor, also calling out Engoron in an impassioned speech. "I was told to sit down today," Habba stated. "I was yelled at and I've had a judge who is unhinged slamming a table."
Trump is accused of inflating his net worth and property values in order to secure loans on favorable terms and has denied wrongdoing in the ongoing $250 million civil fraud trial against himself and the Trump Organization.
"The numbers of my net worth are substantially more than the number you have in the financial statement," he said in court today. "Therefore, you have no case."
Habba described the judge's face as "going red" when Trump took the witness stand, alleging that Engoron only wanted facts that went along with his narrative.
Emotions were running high when the court convened and Trump's legal team was scolded by the judge.
At one point, Engoron said, "Please just answer the questions, no speeches," adding, "Some of your answers have not been responsive to the questions."
Trump expressed similar remarks to Habba, later telling the court, "I'm sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me," to which Engoron replied: "You can attack me in whichever way you want, but please answer the questions."
Trump's legal team also got a stern warning as the proceedings continued.
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"I beseech you to control him if you can," Engoron told Trump lawyer Christopher Kise at one point. "If you can't, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can."