2023-10-02 16:59:51
It’s been a long time since Donald Trump turned his legal issues in it central element of his presidential campaign by 2024 and by fundraising. This Monday has taken the strategy to new heights. Just before the New York State Supreme Court began the civil trial in which he is accused of fraud, a process where Judge Arthur Engoron already confirmed the central accusation last week, Trump has stood before the cameras before entering the room and has done almost eight minutes of statements, delaying the start of the process.
With the usual style and content of his rallies, interviews and messages on networks, including insults to the judge and the prosecutor New York General Letitia James, Trump has thus turned the occasion into an unusual campaign event. Messages reaching the emails and telephone numbers of his followers appealing to donate with the message “never give up“and the photo from his police booking in the case of Georgia. Another email from his campaign assaulted James. And Trump, who I was not required to attend in person. to the court, thus ratifying his efforts to try to obtain political gain from his numerous legal problems, which include both this civil trial and four criminal charges. What he failed to do was minimize the seriousness of those problems.
The charges
Judge Engoron ruled last week that Trump, as prosecutor James alleges, committed fraud for at least a decade inflating in billions of dollars value of 23 properties and assets to obtain advantageous conditions on loans and insurance. Now the magistrate presides over a civil trial, without jurywhere the prosecution must prove the other six allegations against the businessman, his sons Donald Jr and Eric, his organization and two of its directors: falsification of business records and financial statements and insurance fraud y conspiracies for each of those three crimes.
Before Trump arrived at the court, James spoke outside the building to deliver a message. “It doesn’t matter how powerful you are, how much money you have: no one is above the law“said the prosecutor. If she achieves her goal and convinces Judge Engoron, she could make Trump face fines and penalties of up to 250 million dollars, losing control of several of its properties in the city and be banned from doing business in NY.
No cameras inside
Once the trial began after Trump’s statements in the hallway, Judge Engoron determined that there could be no cameras while the two parties made their presentations of their opening statements. It has, however, allowed images to be taken before, in which it has been possible to see Trump sitting between two of his lawyersalready James watching him from one of the benches behind the prosecution team.
After photojournalists took those images, the trial began, which Trump had previously tried to frame as a “continuation of the greatest Witch hunt never seen before.” In his words he has also insulted the magistrate and the prosecutor, a black Democrat whom he has called “racist.”
“Every time they give me a false accusation I rise in the polls“, he assured. He has also defended that his financial statements are “phenomenal“But that is something that Engoron has already determined to be false. And in the coming weeks justice will determine the details and the punishment.
At the moment, in the initial arguments, the prosecution pointed to the severity of the accusations Yet the intentionality what they claim was behind the actions of the Trumps and their employees. The defense, for its part, reiterated its line of argument that the financial statements did not cause damages and that the financial entities and insurance companies were the ones who had the ultimate responsibility for making their own assessments.
One of Trump’s lawyers also introduced accusations that this is political persecution, something that Trump reiterated before reporters during the lunch break, when he again attacked the judge, who is a Democrat, and said that “he should recuse yourself.” “He already has a decision made, it’s ridiculous,” he declared.
Although this trial was initially expected to last until the end of Decemberthe process, where Trump could testify, may speed up since Engoron has already accepted the central accusation as valid. And it could end before Trump’s next court dates take place. In January, on the 15th and 29th, two other cases are scheduled to begin in New York (for the lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll and for another accusation against the Trump Organization). He March 4 The federal criminal case begins for his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential elections and his role in the assault on the Capitol and the March 25th the criminal case in New York for payments to silence Stormy Daniels. For him May 20th The start of the federal trial for the irregular handling of classified documents. And the date for the start of the criminal case in Georgia has not yet been set.
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