06 November 2023 , 17:01
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As Donald Trump takes the stand today in the $250 million civil fraud trial against him and other members of the Trump Organization, the judge has repeatedly called for his legal team to "control" the former president.
While being questioned by state attorney Kevin Wallace, Trump spoke at length in his answers, which appeared to irk Judge Arthur F Engoron, presiding. Throughout the first part of his testimony, Judge Engoron asked Trump repeatedly not to give lengthy speeches as answers and just answer the questions.
Assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace has walked Trump through financial statements from 2014, questioning his role in preparing the valuations of his properties. However, Trump has defied requests for succinct answers, remaining calm but giving lengthy speeches about the value of his brand and why his properties are worth more than what they were listed for on the statements.
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Judge Arthur Engoron has repeatedly called for Trump's lawyers to 'control' him and stop him from giving lengthy answers (Getty Images)Judge Engoron has grown increasingly weary of Trump's long-winded answer, cutting him off and even striking one response from the record. He said: "We are here to hear him answer questions and most of th time he's not."
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Trump shook his head, his lips pursed, while his lawyer, Christopher Kise, urged the judge to listen to his client's response. He said: "The court needs to hear what he has to say about these statements. He's describing to you why there was no intent to mislead anyone with his answers. That's what he's doing."
"No, I'm not here to hear what he has to say. I'm here to hear him answer questions," said Judge Engoron in response, raising his voice. The judge went back and forth with Mr Kise, saying: "I don't want to hear everything he has to say".
Former President Donald Trump waits to take the witness stand at New York Supreme Court (AP)Trump's other counsel, Alina Habba, attempted to shift the blame to Mr Wallace. She said he needed to ask better questions, explaining: "More succinct questions will give more succinct answers". However, judge Engoron responded: "We are not here to hear what he has to say, We are here to have him answer questions."
"It's not that simple", contested Ms Habba. At this point, Judge Engoron grew irate, and the judge, known to bang his fist on the table, raised his voice saying: "I am not here to hear what he has to say, not sit down!" Trump chimed in with his two cents before questions continued, leaning into the microphone and saying: "This is a very unfair trial. Very, very, and I hope the public is watching."
At one point, Trump even interrupted Mr Wallace, to say that if he had wanted to inflate his financial statements, he would have done so differently. He said: "If I wanted to build up the statement like you said I did before you found out just how rich we are, I would've added brand value here and I would've increased it by tens of millions of dollars".
Flanked by his attorneys Chris Kise, left, and Alina Habba, former President Donald Trump waits to take the witness stand (AP)Judge Engoron wasn't overly pleased with this interruption, asking Mr Wallace: "Did you ask for an essay on brand values?" As questioning continued, the judge attempted to try and move Trump along in his answers, stating at one point: "That was a yes or no question. Please answer yes or no when you receive such a question."
"Mr Kise, can you control your client?" asked Judge Engoron during the terse first 30 minutes of testimony. "This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom," he added. Later, speaking about Trump's answers, Judge Engoron said: "In addition to the answers being nonresponsive, they're repetitive. We don't have time to waste. We have one day with this witness."
After another evasive answer from Trump, when asked about the accuracy of a statement claiming his 40 Wall Street property to be worth $550 million, Judge Engoron told Mr Kise to control the former president, threatening to dismiss him from the stand. He said: "Mr Kise that was a simple yes or no question. We got another speech. I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can't I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can."