Trump Announces He Will Not Testify In His $250 Million Fraud Trial, Calling The Case A ‘Witch Hunt’

Former President Donald Trump made an unexpected announcement that he would not testify in the $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his company. 

The trial, which has lasted two months, had reached its final week of testimony, and Trump was scheduled to take the witness stand as one of the defense’s final witnesses.

However, on Sunday, Trump posted to his social media site Truth Social that he had already testified to everything and had nothing more to add. He dismissed the trial as a “complete & total election interference witch hunt.” 

Originally slated to resume on Monday, the trial was postponed until Tuesday by the Office of Court Administration, the administrative arm of the New York State Unified Court System. This delay allowed Trump to bypass his scheduled testimony and avoid further legal proceedings.

The purpose of Trump’s expected testimony was to counter New York Attorney General Letitia James’(D) allegations that he had inflated his properties’ values and his own net worth in financial statements.

James argued that Trump used these overvalued figures to secure favorable loans from banks, to which he wouldn’t otherwise have been entitled.

In a previous appearance as a witness on November 6, Trump exhibited a combative demeanor and launched personal attacks against James and the judge, Arthur Engoron. He called James a “political hack” and referred to Engoron as a “very hostile judge.” Trump took issue with Engoron’s pretrial ruling, which determined that Trump and his company had engaged in repeated acts of fraud.

James reacted dismissively to Trump’s decision not to testify and asserted that the evidence already presented had established years of financial fraud and unjust enrichment on Trump’s part. She maintained that the facts spoke for themselves, regardless of Trump’s attempts to distract from reality.

In his Truth Social posts, Trump reiterated his belief that the trial was rigged, and claimed that the only fraud committed was by the judge, whom he referred to as “highly partisan & out of control,” and the James, whom he labeled as “racist.”

Trump’s legal team, which included attorneys Chris Kise and Alina Habba, expressed dissatisfaction with the judge’s rulings and criticized the imposition of a gag order and the judge’s apparent disregard for Trump’s previous testimony.

The decision to forgo his testimony came after accounting expert Eli Bartov, hired by the defense, testified that he found no evidence of accounting fraud in the financial statements that were challenged by the attorney general.

Bartov, an accounting professor at New York University, stated that there were no material misstatements in the statements of financial condition for the relevant years. However, critics pointed out Bartov’s financial ties to the Trump Organization and Trump’s Save America PAC, which raised questions about his objectivity.

The prosecution uncovered that Bartov was paid $877,000 by the Trump Organization in the last 11 months.

As the trial moves forward, James’ office is expected to present rebuttal witnesses after Bartov’s testimony. Both sides will then submit filings that outline their positions before they return to court for closing arguments on January 11. The trial will ultimately determine the extent of Trump and his company’s liability which could reach up to $250 million.