Donald Trump Slams AG Letitia James for ‘Smirking All Day Long’ During New York Civil Fraud Trial, Calls for Mistrial
Donald Trump is lashing out at Letitia James (again) for the New York attorney general’s demeanor in court as his family’s civil fraud trial continues.
“Racist A.G. Letitia James is smirking all day long from her seat in Court,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “You have a (Trump Hating!) Attorney General who’s seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages when not a single penny was lost by these banks, and that’s part of this (Unconstitutional!) Law,” he said, adding, “You can see from the reaction of A.G. James, every morning from that seat, that she is enjoying this, enjoying it a bit too much.”
These attacks are nothing new for James, who has had to endure several slights by the former president since she brought the lawsuit alleging he, his adult sons, and the Trump Organization purposely overinflated the value of his assets to advance his business ventures.
Trump has called James “racist” more than once and continues to parade around the notion that this trial against him is a “political witchhunt.”
Judge Arthur Engoron already found the Trump Organization and its executives liable for fraud. The trial is to determine the amount of damages the company will have to pay. Trump’s business licenses are still valid at this point in time. A New York appeals court decided to pause the removal of those licenses until the trial concludes.
The prosecution rested their case Wednesday and now Trump’s legal team is up to bat to present their case and question witnesses.
One of their first actions was to call for a mistrial, arguing that unfair bias is at play.
According to CNN, Trump’s attorneys filed a motion alleging Judge Engoron has unfairly ruled against Trump, made comments during the trial that display bias and has exceeded his discretion in working with his clerk, who has donated to organizations they claim support New York Attorney General Letitia James and others that oppose Trump in excess of contribution limits.
Engoron’s law clerk has been the center of several complaints from Trump’s lawyers since the trial began. This prompted the judge to file a gag order prohibiting Trump and his attorneys from making statements about court staff, specifically about communications with his law clerk. Trump violated the order twice, resulting in fines.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said, “Once again, Donald Trump is trying to dismiss the truth and the facts, but the numbers and evidence don’t lie. Donald Trump is now being held accountable for the years of fraud he committed and the incredible ways he lied to enrich himself and his family. He can keep trying to distract from his fraud, but the truth always comes out.”