Social media speculation about Ivanka Trump’s testimony tended to focus on whether she would protect her father and the family business or throw him under the bus. But in the end, the former first daughter did what she does best: protect herself and her own brand. Ivanka’s testimony today marked a striking contrast to the bombastic posturing of her father and that of her two brothers, Don, Jr. and Eric. There was no dramatic posturing or temper tantrums, and Judge Arthur Engoran even appeared to good-naturedly tease about her celebrity...

Donald Trump took the witness stand on Monday and acted, well, exactly as you’d expect Donald Trump to act on the witness stand. Instead of answering questions about the fraudulent financial practices that could cost him $250 million in addition to his New York business licenses, the former president lashed out against his prosecutors, cycled between self-aggrandizement and self-pity, and rambled enough that Judge Arthur Engoron had to practically beg Trump’s attorneys to “control your client.” But Trump can’t even control himself—so what chance would his legal team have, even...

Former President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that the property valuations that his company submitted to banks and insurers were meant to "induce" loans from lenders while being questioned by prosecutors from the New York attorney general's office, legal experts say. Counsel for the New York attorney general's office on Monday showed Trump a Deutsche Bank term loan agreement from the early 2010s that Trump had verified and signed. The prosecutor then asked Trump if the intentions to submit values of businesses and the properties of the Trump Organization were...

took the witness stand in his $250 million fraud lawsuit, but MSNBC's Chuck Rosenberg said the former president didn't do himself any favors in court. repeatedly admonished the twice-impeached ex-president to answer the questions as asked by prosecutors and stop giving "irrelevant" testimony more suited to a campaign rally than a courtroom, and the legal analyst told "Morning Joe" that was trying to fight the law on two fronts. "Things did not go well in court, not for Mr. Trump," Rosenberg said. "Look, he's really functioning, operating in two different...

Obama-era acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said Donald Trump “covered a lot of ground” with his attacks on lawyers, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron while taking the stand in his civil fraud trial in New York on Monday. “But for all of his attacks, there was one key thing missing from Trump’s testimony, which is any semblance of a colorable defense, and that is Donald Trump through and through,” Katyal told MSNBC’s Charles Coleman. “It’s bloviating, it’s distraction and the like, and that’s why you...

CNN chief legal analyst Elie Honig was unimpressed with former President Donald Trump’s testimony in his civil fraud trial in New York on Monday. Trump was questioned by state attorneys about the valuations of his assets, which Attorney General Letitia James says he and the Trump Organization inflated to defraud banks and insurance companies. In September, Judge Arthur Engoron agreed with that charge and issued a partial summary judgment to that effect. James is seeking $250 million from Trump and the revocation of his business licenses. The former president said...

Former President Donald Trump sparred with a New York judge early and often Monday as he testified in a civil trial that could threaten his real estate empire and offered a preview of the legal drama that awaits the GOP front-runner as he campaigns for a 2024 rematch with President Biden. Anyone who thought the outspoken former president would tone it down in the wood-paneled Manhattan courtroom was wrong from the start. He lashed out at the New York Attorney General Letitia James from the witness stand. He said his...

Former President Donald Trump to take the stand in New York civil fraud trial Former President Donald Trump is expected to answer questions about the role he played in fraudulent financial statements filed by the Trump Organization between 2011 and 2021. Trump is the founder and former chairman and president of the Trump Organization, a company that includes, among other things, a large real estate portfolio. He is being accused by state Attorney General Letitia James of being a part of a scheme that involved inflating or deflating the value...