Former President Donald Trump’s Thursday courtroom tirade could backfire, legal experts warn.
Trump attorney Chris Kise asked Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing Trump’s New York fraud trial, to allow Trump to speak on his own behalf during closing arguments. Engoron asked Trump if he would agree to stick to the facts and relevant law but the former president launched into a lengthy diatribe, accusing the judge and New York Attorney General Letitia James of waging a “political witch hunt” and demanding “damages” because the real “fraud is on me.”
During one portion of his rant, Trump referred to a key allegation in James’ lawsuit alleging that the former president’s Trump Tower penthouse was valued at three times larger than it actually is.
“They made a mistake. It was an honest mistake,” Trump said.
James’ team allowed Trump to speak until the judge ultimately shut him down and pleaded for Kise to “control your client.”
“There may be a reason that James’ staff didn’t interrupt,” wrote NBC News legal analyst Lisa Rubin. “The AG’s office may have struck gold because some of what Trump said was so damaging to him, especially his explanation of the triplex square footage ‘error.’”
Why you would waste your time talking to someone who delights in lies and only ever argues in bad faith is beyond me. If they’re a family member, cut them out of your life and tell them it’s because they’re an “untrustworthy lying piece of shit, devoid of character or any redeeming value.”
All the trumptards in my family were always the ones getting a divorce, begging for money, or just being a fucking moron. Life has been so peaceful since we trimmed the fat.
It was only after a few exchanges that I realized what I was dealing with.
He was playing the ‘both sides are the same’ card. Unfortunately, a lot of people have brought into this idea and it’s hard to separate the unaware from the malicious.