After a scorching first turn on the witness stand, former president Donald Trump plans to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial, his lawyers said Monday. He is to return Dec. 11, defense attorney Christopher Kise said.
Quick Read
- Future Testimony Date: Donald Trump is scheduled to testify again on December 11, as stated by his defense attorney Christopher Kise.
- Context of Previous Testimony: In his previous testimony, called by the New York attorney general’s office, Trump defended himself against the lawsuit’s allegations.
- Nature of Upcoming Testimony: This time, Trump’s own lawyers will initiate the questioning, allowing for a broader range of topics than in the previous cross-examination.
- Trump’s Defense: Trump has consistently refuted the allegations, claiming his wealth was understated in the financial statements, which he argues is “the opposite of fraud.”
- Focus of the Lawsuit: The lawsuit by Attorney General Letitia James centers on Trump’s “statements of financial condition” from 2014 to 2021, used for loans and other business deals.
- Change in Trump Organization’s Reporting: A Trump Organization executive testified that the company no longer produces these comprehensive financial statements.
- Current Financial Reporting Practice: The Trump Organization continues with various audits and reports for specific components but no longer creates a consolidated financial statement for the entire company.
- Role of Mark Hawthorn: Hawthorn, the chief operating officer of the Trump Organization’s hotel arm and a CPA, clarified that he has not taken on all financial responsibilities for the Trump Organization, contrary to what was previously suggested.
- Defense’s Argument: The defense maintains that the Trump Organization has produced numerous financial documents without issue, implying the lawsuit’s focus on the overall financial statements is unjustified.
- Prosecution’s Focus: The prosecution emphasizes the case’s concentration on Trump’s overall financial statements, dismissing other documents as irrelevant.
- Judge’s Prior Ruling: Judge Arthur Engoron has already found Trump and other defendants engaged in fraud. The ongoing trial aims to resolve remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records.
- Sought Penalties: Attorney General James is seeking over $300 million in penalties and a ban on Trump conducting business in New York. Additionally, there’s a contested pretrial order for a receiver to oversee some of Trump’s properties, currently on hold by an appeals court.
The associated Press has the story:
Donald Trump set to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
After a scorching first turn on the witness stand, former president Donald Trump plans to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial, his lawyers said Monday.
He is to return Dec. 11, defense attorney Christopher Kise said.
Trump was called to testify last time by his adversaries in the lawsuit, the New York attorney general’s office. This time, the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner’s own lawyers will open the questioning and can ask about a wider range of subjects than they could on cross-examination.
Not that those limitations stopped Trump from lambasting the suit and defending himself and his business against Attorney General Letitia James’ claims. Her lawsuit says he and his company misled lenders and insurers by giving them financial statements that greatly inflated his asset values and overall net worth.
“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements,” Trump insisted on the stand last time. “This is the opposite of fraud. … The fraud is her.”
Now finishing its second month, the trial is putting a spotlight on the real estate empire that vaulted Trump into public life and eventually politics. He maintains that James, a Democrat, is trying to damage his campaign.
At the heart of the case are Trump’s 2014 to 2021 annual “statements of financial condition,” which were used to help secure loans and other deals.
A Trump Organization executive testified Monday that the company no longer produces such statements.
The company continues to prepare various audits and other financial reports specific to some of its components, but “there is no roll-up financial statement of the company,” said Mark Hawthorn, the chief operating officer of the Trump Organization’s hotel arm.
He wasn’t asked why the comprehensive reports had ceased but said they are “not required by any lender, currently, or any constituency.”
Messages seeking comment on the matter were sent to spokespeople for the Trump Organization.
Hawthorn, a certified public accountant, has worked since 2016 for the company’s Trump Hotels arm. Parent company Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr. testified earlier that Hawthorn is functioning as the entire Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, calling him “the finance guy within Trump world now” and saying the CPA “has taken on all those decisional responsibilities.”
But Hawthorn said that statement was wrong, that using “the word ‘all’ makes it incorrect.”
Hawthorn was testifying for the defense, which argues that various companies under the Trump Organization’s umbrella have produced reams of financial documents “that no one had a problem with,” as lawyer Clifford Robert put it.
A lawyer for James’ office, Andrew Amer, stressed that the suit is about Trump’s overall statements of financial condition, calling the other documents irrelevant.
Trump asserts that his wealth was understated, not overblown, on his financial statements. He also says the numbers came with disclaimers saying that they weren’t audited and that others might reach different conclusions about his financial position.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who will decide the verdict in the non-jury trial, has already ruled that Trump and other defendants engaged in fraud. The current proceeding is to decide remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
James wants the judge to impose over $300 million in penalties and to ban Trump from doing business in New York — and that’s on top of Engoron’s pretrial order that a receiver take control of some of Trump’s properties. An appeals court has frozen that order for now.
