ORIGINAL LINK : https://bbc.moneycode.kr/report/article/51707/
On the 6th (local time), former U.S. President Donald Trump once again stood in court. He is accused of manipulating his asset value for bank loans. Yet, his demeanor in court was no different from his usual.
In the trial held in a New York state court that day, Trump continued to testify as he had been as a real estate businessman and politician. He ignored rules, skipped over details, and boasted with bluster.
Through such an aggressive and free-spirited demeanor, it was possible to guess what attitude Trump would show as a defendant in the four criminal cases to come.
Trump continuously provoked the ire of Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the trial, by refusing to directly answer questions posed by Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General and District Attorney.
In response to questions about accounting documents and dates that required ‘yes or no’ answers, he boasted about the enormous value of his assets and responded with a long-winded criticism of the partisan tendencies of the judge and prosecutor.
During the trial, he even stated, “This is a very unfair trial… I hope the public is watching.”
Indeed, due to the inability of cameras to enter the courtroom, dozens of reporters gathered in court that day to relay his testimony to the outside.
Seemingly aware of this, Trump vigorously defended himself with similar logic and words that he often used in his SNS and campaign speeches to incite the anger of his supporters.
Even during the afternoon recess that day, a post criticizing Judge Engoron was posted on Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ account.
In response to some questions, Trump, who claimed that the District Attorney and other prosecutors were “chasing me from all directions,” criticized, “All Democrats, those who hate me, all are bad cases,” and “(Judicial) Weaponization. They (weaponize) the judicial system.”
As such, his answers were sometimes boastful, and sometimes simply strange.
For example, when Kevin Wallace, a lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office, asked about his brand value, Trump boasted, “I became president thanks to my brand.”
In response to a question about his golf course in Scotland, he suddenly expressed his political opposition to wind turbines, saying, “I do not like wind turbines.” A wind turbine is installed in the sea in front of Trump’s golf course.
All morning, such evasive or partisan answers continued.
In response, Judge Engoron scolded Trump’s defense team during the trial, asking, “Can you control your client?” and stating, “This is not a political rally.”
In addition, Judge Engoron scolded Trump and his defense team several times from the bench throughout the morning.
Usually, witnesses in court do not talk at length like this, let alone in this manner. But Trump is not a typical defendant.
As Judge Engoron’s scolding for this attitude continued, Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise also admitted his client’s behavior, calling it an “unusual situation,” but argued that Trump, given his unique position and circumstances, should be allowed to make such remarks.
But Judge Engoron thought differently. It seemed that Judge Engoron had decided to treat Trump like any other defendant.
After the afternoon recess, Trump was noticeably subdued. There were moments when he showed strong emotions towards Attorney General James (who simply ignored him), but compared to the morning, he stuck to shorter answers.
The Attorney General’s side argued that Trump and his closest associates and his companies inflated the value of assets on their financial statements to facilitate bank loans.
In response to these suspicions, Trump, who was once the 45th President of the United States, tried hard to seize the opportunity to boast about his brand value. It was a method he enjoyed when he entered politics about 10 years ago.
In between such boasting and expressions of anger, Trump tried to defend himself by asserting that his assets are worth much more than the numbers on paper, and that the bank loans known to have been taken out by him have been fully repaid.
For example, he claimed that his ‘Mar-a-Lago’ mansion in Florida holds a “much larger number” of value than the number listed on the balance sheet, and boasted that ‘Trump Tower’ on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, “holds the best location in New York.”
Meanwhile, Trump has been on the witness stand before. In fact, at the beginning of this trial, Judge Engoron put Trump on the witness stand, judging that his specific remarks were aimed at court staff.
Trump is behaving this way as a former president, a leading candidate in the Republican primary, and a defendant in four criminal cases (this case is a civil trial) where he could be sentenced to prison.
These trials will proceed one by one, intertwined with the U.S. elections next year.
As Trump is increasingly cornered, he is gradually escalating his rhetoric. It’s a return to the street fighter persona he had when he wrested the Republican presidential nomination from established politicians in 2016.
He is strongly criticizing court staff and even directly attacking the prosecutor by name.
Last October, Judge Engoron issued a gag order prohibiting court defamation when Trump seemed to make a derogatory claim about a court official sitting to the judge’s right. So far, Judge Engoron has fined Trump $15,000 (about 19 million won) and issued a gag order to Trump’s lawyer who claimed that the court official was biased.
Meanwhile, Trump even turned his arrows of criticism towards the judge during the trial on the 6th.
He stated, “I am sure this judge will rule against me (this time) because he always makes rulings unfavorable to me.”
In response, Judge Engoron retorted, “You can attack me and do whatever you want,” and “But answer the question.”
Additional reporting: Madeline Halpert, Chloe Kim
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