Donald Trump Claims Civil Fraud Case Is Dead After Michael Cohen Testimony – Donald Trump declared the prosecution’s case in his civil fraud trial was “dead” following his ex-lawyer’s testimony on Wednesday.
The former president is currently facing allegations of oversizing and overvaluing his assets to secure favorable insurance deals. The case, which will be decided by Judge Arthur Engoron and not a jury, is in its third week.
Earlier this week, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified at the trial. Cohen was the most anticipated witness given his once close relationship with the former president, which dramatically ended in 2018.
Cohen’s Contradiction?
On Wednesday, Cohen, who’s been described as state Attorney General Letitia James’ “star” witness, was presented with a 2019 testimony in which the former fixer did not say that Trump directed him to inflate his net worth. Earlier this week, Cohen said otherwise.
“Mr. Trump never directed you to inflate the numbers in his personal statement. Yes or no?” Clifford Robert, an attorney for Trump’s sons, asked Cohen. “Yes,” he replied, following a heated exchange.
Cohen later accused Trump’s attorneys of “cherry picking” words in his testimony. He also repeated a commonly used argument that the former president “speaks like a mob boss,” and will “tell you without specifically telling you” what to do.
What Did Donald Trump Say?
Republican frontrunner Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to celebrate after Cohen appeared to contradict himself at the trial in New York. He claimed the incident proved Cohen “lied like a dog on the stand today, and then admitted I did NOTHING WRONG. … A total SleazeBag.”
“The New York State Attorney General’s case against me is DEAD, but the Radical Left Judge REFUSES to end it. He just can’t let it go,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, repeating his frequent attack on the judge in the case.
“Letitia James should focus on Violent Crime, which is out of control. So unfair. I don’t even get a Jury Trial. A blight on the New York State Judicial System,” he continued. “Businesses are watching all over the world, and never coming in, only moving out. The Governor should get involved.”
He once again claimed it was “election interference” by his political opponent, a crime which he himself is facing criminal charges for.
Characteristically for the former president, the trial has been plagued with drama and violations. At one point on Wednesday, Trump was called to the witness stand for making a comment about the “very partisan” Judge Engoron and “a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him.”
Trump claimed he was referring to Cohen, but was questioned as to whether he was actually referring to the “very biased” court clerk beside Judge Engoron. He was fined $10,000 for breaching his gag order.
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