Judge Arthur Engoron admonished former President Donald Trump for talking during his fraud trial in Manhattan (Picture: AP / Rex)
A judge told former President Donald Trump to keep his voice down as witnesses testified at his civil fraud trial in New York.
Judge Arthur Engoron rebuked the former president for speaking out of turn at his trial in Manhattan.
Trump’s outbursts began when Doug Larson, a former outside appraiser that worked on Trump properties, took the stand for his second day of testimony.
‘Can the defendant please stop commenting during the witness’ testimony?’ asked Kevin Wallace, senior counsel for the attorney general’s office.
Donald Trump addresses the media outside a courthouse in Manhattan (Credits: REUTERS)
The prosecutor seemed to be referring to Trump’s conversation with his own defense attorney, Alina Habba. At one point during Larson’s testimony, he threw his hands up in the air.
Engoron said Trump’s ‘exhortations’ were audible to the rest of the courtroom.He asked the whole courtroom to keep the volume down, ‘particularly if it’s meant to influence the testimony.’
Trump is currently on trial for fraud in a $250million lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
James’ office accused Trump of fraudulently inflating his net worth in order to secure better terms for loans, as well as consistently overvaluing and undervaluing his properties.
Donald Trump sits with his defense attorneys (Picture: AP)
‘With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system,’ James said. ‘In fact, the very foundation of his purported net worth is rooted in incredible fraud and illegality.’
James’ lawsuit was filed in 2022, and a bench trial for the former president began on October 2.
Trump has appeared in court for the second day in a row for witness testimony, even though he was not required to do so.
He previously attended the first three days of the trial in the beginning of the
Outside the courthouse, the former president drew attention when he turned the tables and accused Attorney General James of fraud herself.
‘Her numbers are fraudulent. She’s a fraud,’ he told reporters. ‘Her numbers are fraudulent and this case should be dismissed.’
Judge Arthur Engoron rebuked the former president for speaking out of turn at his trial in Manhattan.