Donald TrumpVideo released of petulant Trump in civil fraud trial deposition
Smirking, pouting and defiant ex-president bragged about properties and claimed he prevented nuclear war with North Korea
Months before Donald Trump’s defiant turn as a witness at his New York civil fraud trial, the former president came face to face with the state attorney general who is suing him when he sat for a deposition last year at her Manhattan office.
Video made public on Friday of the seven-hour, closed-door session last April shows the Republican presidential frontrunner’s demeanor going from calm and cool to indignant – at one point ripping into the lawsuit of the attorney general, Letitia James, against him as a “disgrace” and “a terrible thing”.
Sitting with arms folded, an incredulous Trump complained to the state lawyer questioning him that he was being forced to “justify myself to you” after decades of success building a real estate empire that is now threatened by the court case.
Trump, who contends James’s lawsuit is part of a politically motivated “witch-hunt”, was demonstrative from the outset. The video shows him smirking and pouting as the attorney general, a Democrat, introduced herself and told him that she was “committed to a fair and impartial legal process”.
James’s office released the video on Friday in response to requests from media outlets under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. Trump’s lawyers previously posted a transcript of his remarks to the trial docket in August.
James’s lawsuit accuses Trump, his company and top executives of defrauding banks, insurers, and others by inflating his wealth and exaggerating the value of assets on annual financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who will decide the case because a jury is not allowed in this type of lawsuit, has said he hopes to have a ruling by the end of January.
Friday’s video is a rare chance for the public at large to see Trump as a witness.
Cameras were not permitted in the courtroom when Trump testified on 6 November, nor were they allowed for closing arguments in the case on 11 January, when Trump defied the judge and gave a six-minute diatribe after his lawyers spoke.
Here are the highlights from Trump’s videotaped deposition:
‘You don’t have a case’
Telling James and her staff, “you don’t have a case”, Trump insisted the banks she alleges were snookered with lofty valuations suffered no harm, got paid in his deals and “to this day have no complaints”.
“Do you know the banks made a lot of money?” Trump asked, previewing his later trial testimony. “Do you know I don’t believe I ever got even a default notice and, even during Covid, the banks were all paid. And yet you’re suing on behalf of banks, I guess. It’s crazy. The whole case is crazy.”
Don’t take my word for it
Trump said he never felt his financial statements “would be taken very seriously”, and that people who did business with him were given ample warning not to trust them.
Trump claimed the statements were mainly for his use, though he conceded financial institutions sometimes asked for them. Even then, he insisted it didn’t matter legally if they were accurate or not, because they came with a disclaimer.
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“I have a clause in there that says, ‘Don’t believe the statement. Go out and do your own work,’” Trump testified. “You’re supposed to pay no credence to what we say whatsoever.”
‘Most important job in the world’
After he was elected, Trump said, he was busy solving the world’s problems – like preventing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un from launching a nuclear attack.
“I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives,” Trump testified. “I think you would have nuclear holocaust if I didn’t deal with North Korea. I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.”
Obstructed view
In one of his more animated moments, Trump urged his inquisitors to look right out the window for a view of his 40 Wall Street office tower – just across the street from James’s office where he testified.
Asked how the building was doing, financially, Trump gestured toward the building with his thumb and answered: “Good. It’s right here. Would you like to see it?”
“I don’t think we’re allowed to open the windows,” state lawyer Kevin Wallace said.
“Open the curtain,” Trump suggested, bobbing his head around waiting for someone to oblige.
“No,” Wallace said.
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