One of Donald Trump’s attorneys for the ongoing New York civil fraud trial went on the offense against New York Attorney General Letitia James to strongly claim that James is overtly mishandling the case.
The proceedings for this civil case will determine the damages the Trump family and the Trump Organization will face after the state of New York held them liable for purposely inflating the value of the company and several of Trump’s assets to advance his business needs.
Trump’s highly anticipated testimony was heard on Monday. In his court appearance, he went on several unhinged spiels after being asked about fraudulent financial statements connected to his flagship real-estate company.
Just before Trump’s day in court commenced, his attorney Alina Habba appeared in front of reporters to disparage James and the state prosecution for going after her client.
“Ms. James wants to call my client a liar, call the company fraudulent, and make a name for herself,” Habba told the press outside the courthouse. “Ms. James, I have a message for you: the numbers didn’t lie when you ran for governor, and that’s why you dropped out, and the numbers don’t lie when President Trump runs for office in 2024. And those numbers are loud and clear.”
James did end her run for New York governor in December 2021. Her successful record and momentous bid to become the country’s first Black female governor initially earned her strong support. Stacey Abrams also ran a historic campaign in 2018 to become the first Black female governor of Georgia, narrowly losing the race to Brian Kemp.
However, after struggling to secure sufficient campaign donations and high-profile endorsements and her weaker performance in the polls against now-Gov. Kathy Hochul, James withdrew her name from the race and opted to run for re-election to maintain her position as state attorney general.
Habba then went on to insist that James doesn’t know how to “get out of” the allegations she’s brought forth, claiming that the Trump Organization is worth much less than what it’s been valued on official financial documents “because her politics won’t let her.”
“She calls him a bully. She says he’s going to bring out racial slurs, he’s going to say things today and taunt her,” Habba added. “They’ve got nothing but their politics. She’s got nothing but her Soros backing.”
James also spoke to the press before and after Monday’s court proceedings. Before the trial resumed, she said she was “certain” that Trump would “engage in name-calling, taunts, and race-baiting.”
To shed light on Habba’s mention of James’s “Soros backing,” Fox News reported campaign finance records that showed billionaire investor George Soros, his son Jonathan Soros, and his son’s wife Jennifer Allan Soros pitched tens of thousands of dollars James’ way to bolster her political career. However, receiving donations from megadonors is nothing new in politics. GOP megadonors like Robert and Rebekah Mercer gave millions to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign—other business magnates donated to PACs in 2016 and 2020 supporting Trump as well.
After Monday’s hearing concluded, James recounted highlights from Trump’s time on the stand, fired back at his claims that this trial is a “political witch hunt,” and stood by the lawsuit she brought against the Trump family and their company.
“He rambled, he hurled insults. But we expected that.” James remarked. “At the end of the day, the documentary evidence demonstrated that, in fact, he falsely inflated his assets to basically enrich himself and his family. I will not be bullied. I will not be harassed. This case will go on,” James added.
Habba also appeared on Newsmax to double down on her previous statements to the press while also stating that the trial is a “coordinated effort” to take down Trump “in the year that he needs to be on the campaign trail.” She also made an effort to slight James even more by attempting to insult her intelligence.
“She’s just not that bright. I’m sorry, I have to say it. I’ve seen their case; I’ve seen their lawyers. They don’t know what they’re talking about,” Habba said. “She needs to educate herself, maybe go to some — I don’t even know how to express how ridiculous this is,” Habba said. “It’s like being in a circus with a bunch of — I mean, what I want to say I can’t say on TV, but it’s crazy. You know, it’s just ridiculous. Anybody with a brain understands that this is just completely insane.”
Next on the stand is Trump’s older daughter, Ivanka, who will give her testimony on Wednesday.
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