Ex-President Donald Trump testified in his New York civil fraud trial on Monday (Picture: Zuma Press)
Former President Donald Trump has revealed exactly what the paper was in his pocket while he testified – that the judge refused to let him read.
While on the witness stand, Trump held up a document he claimed would clear him in the $250million civil fraud trial and asked Judge Arthur Engoron if he would ‘like to have it’.
‘I would love to read this, Your Honor, if I could?’ said Trump on Monday. ‘Am I allowed to do that?’
The judge replied: ‘No, not at this point.’
Former President Donald Trump shared a screenshot of part of the document he wanted to read while on the witness stand (Picture: Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)
‘I’m shocked,’ Trump said, in one of numerous tense exchanges in the courtroom.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump disclosed the contents of the paper in a Truth Social post.
‘This is the Paper that I wanted to submit that the Judge refused to take,’ he wrote, ‘Because he doesn’t want anybody to know about the Disclaimer Clause at the beginning of each Financial Statement.’
Trump included a screenshot of part of the document. It had in bold and italics: ‘Users of this financial statement should recognize that they might reach different conclusions about the financial condition of Donald J Trump…’
Courtroom sketch shows former President Donald Trump (right) questioned next to Judge Arthur Engoron (left) on Monday (Picture: Reuters)
‘That case is a disgrace to the Legal and Judicial System of New York,’ continued Trump. ‘Hopefully the Appellate Courts will stop this travesty of Justice that everybody is watching and fully understanding!’
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accuses Trump and his real estate company of lying on his annual statements of financial condition by inflating his worth by billions in order to obtain more favorable loans in several years from 2011 to 2021.
Trump’s team argued that he cannot be held liable for errors on the financial statements because the clause has a section stating that recipients must do their own calculations.
Courtroom sketch shows ex-President Donald Trump on the witness stand in New York Supreme Court on Monday (Picture: AP)
But Engoron said he had already ruled against that argument in September.
‘Read my opinion again,’ Engoron told Trump on Monday. ‘Or for the first time, perhaps.’
Ex-President Donald Trump asked to read a document during his testimony that he claimed would clear him in the civil fraud case.