NEW YORK: Former President Donald Trump is slated to take the witness stand on Monday in a New York civil case that could potentially shake his real estate empire and deal a significant financial blow as he eyes a return to the White House in 2024.
The 77-year-old Republican is scheduled to appear at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) today, seated alongside Judge Arthur Engoron, the same judge he has frequently criticized as “unhinged” and a “Trump-hating radical left, Democrat operative.”
Engoron, in response to Trump’s disparaging remarks about his clerk on social media, imposed two fines on the former president, one for $5,000 and another for $10,000, for violating a partial gag order.
In a Manhattan courtroom adorned with a fading mural commemorating the 1683 “Charter of Liberties,” Trump will be sworn in and subjected to questioning, much like his two eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, who testified the week before.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has leveled allegations against the Trump Organization, accusing it of inflating the value of its assets by billions of dollars to secure more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.
Despite his public pugnacity, Trump is expected to adopt a conservative defense line on the stand, similar to the one his sons presented last week. They argued that accountants bore the ultimate responsibility for verifying the accuracy of the company’s financial statements.
This isn’t Trump’s first interaction with this case; he has already given testimony twice, both times behind closed doors. In excerpts from his initial deposition, he decried the proceedings as “the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country” and labeled the Democratic attorney general as an “out of control prosecutor.” In his second deposition, he dismissed the case as “crazy,” asserting that the banks had been fully compensated and profited from his business.
This trial is just the beginning of several legal battles for Trump. He, along with his sons, does not face imprisonment but could be subjected to penalties of up to $250 million and potential removal from the management of the family company.
Even before the trial’s opening arguments, Judge Engoron ruled that James’ office had provided “conclusive evidence” that Trump had overstated his net worth on financial documents by a substantial margin, ranging from $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.
In response, the judge ordered the liquidation of companies managing the contested assets, including the Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street skyscrapers in Manhattan, as well as the opulent Seven Springs private estate in the suburbs. While the order is currently under appeal, its potential far-reaching implications underscore the high stakes facing the former president.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who departed the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a White House advisor to her father, is not a defendant in the case but has also been summoned to testify, potentially as early as Wednesday.
Trump, who leads the pack for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has sporadically appeared in the New York trial since it began a month ago. During his appearances, he has portrayed himself as the target of what he claims is a Democratic plot aimed at derailing his White House ambitions.
This civil fraud trial is just one of several legal challenges that Trump confronts as he seeks to stage a political comeback. In March, he is expected to appear in federal court in Washington for the start of his trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
Remarkably, the media spectacle surrounding his legal predicaments has yet to dent his popularity in the polls, setting the stage for a potentially turbulent and high-stakes political landscape ahead.
