Former President Donald Trump shared a strange courtroom sketch on social media that showed him at his fraud case in Manhattan with a person who looked like Jesus Christ sitting next to him.
Trump’s lawyers spent his first day in court arguing that his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is actually worth at least $1 billion, rather than the $18 million that prosecutors claim he is worth Value of his real estate inflated.
The former president and 2024 candidate, 77, frowned and shook his head as prosecutors accused him of “lying year after year” to inflate the value of his real estate empire by $2.2 billion Get cheap bank loans.
However, he shared an image on Truth Social that showed a more angelic side, a courtroom sketch that shows the image of the Son of God standing at his side.
Dom Lucre, a pro-Trump political commentator with over 700,000 followers on Twitter, captioned the image with the words: “This is the most accurate courtroom sketch ever. Because no one could have made it this far alone.”
Former President Donald Trump shared a strange courtroom sketch on social media showing him with an effigy of Jesus Christ next to Trump during his fraud case in Manhattan
Trump shared the picture on his Truth Social platform without any further caption, which Lucre later announced shared again on Twitter with a fire emoji.
The former president’s first day in court in one of his criminal or civil trials was marked by a change in attitude towards Judge Arthur Engoron.
Trump made the surprising reversal after the judge, responding to testimony from the longtime accountant who worked for the Trump Organization, said the witness’s appearance may have been a “waste of time.”
“The judge’s last statement was very fair,” Trump said, after earlier calling Judge Arthur Engoron an “agent” of the Democrats.
“The way I interpret it… the statute of limitations is a very real thing in this country and if it were to eliminate 80 percent of this case it would be over,” Trump said. He called the statement a welcome and unexpected development.
“But that was a big, big — I say surprise — but it was a great honor for the court that the judge was willing to overrule himself in that way, and I respect that very much,” Trump said.
Trump’s lawyers agreed with the judge’s statement and Trump gave a thumbs up.
However, the judge himself did not go so far as to say that most of the proceedings would be dropped.
He seemed to recognize how the appeals court had decided the matter. Trump’s team sued on September 14, accusing Engoron of ignoring the appeals court’s decision.
Engoron made this statement in court in response to testimony from longtime Mazars accountant Donald Bender. He talked about his process of accepting the valuations provided by his client while talking about using them for returns from the Trump Organization in 2011.
Trump’s lawyers spent his first day in court arguing that his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is actually worth at least $1 billion, rather than the $18 million that prosecutors claim he is worth Value of his real estate inflated
Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower after attending the first day of his civil fraud trial. He praised Judge Arthur Engoron for his “very fair” testimony – just hours after he said he should be disbarred
The judge then upheld the decision of an appeals court – the subject of a procedural dispute before the court – that the law regulating the limitation period for the fraud identified by Engoron only applied until 2014.
“I trust you can connect the 2011 documents to something that happened later,” Engoron told prosecutors, “otherwise this was all a waste of time.”
It was not immediately clear whether the comment represented a significant victory or just a glimpse of where the judge might be headed.
Trump took a more optimistic view, saying, “Something that we won on appeal but was not accepted by this court now appears to be accepted by this court.”
He enthused: “We very much welcome the decision made today, or at least today, on the statute of limitations,” then once again defended his “very strong company” and that real estate valuations are accepted by banks whose lawyers are even “better than my lawyers.”
It was a significant about-face when, just two hours earlier, Trump angrily attacked the state Supreme Court justice overseeing his case, saying Engoron should be disbarred and “criminally charged” because of negative rulings.
Trump criticized the judge over an earlier summary judgment in the case that left him facing a potential $250 million fine, even though his team had sought summary judgment in the case.
“This is a judge who should be expelled.” “This is a judge who should not be in office,” Trump said.
“This is a judge who some people say could be prosecuted for his actions.” “He’s interfering in an election, and that’s a disgrace,” Trump complained.
Trump made the extraordinary statement during a lunch break, just steps outside the courtroom as reporters and cameras watched the New York courthouse.
Trump said Judge Arthur Engoron could face “criminal charges” for his handling of the case
Engoron attended Columbia University, received his law degree from New York University, and worked as a litigator and court reporter
At the end of the court day, Trump referred to a comment from the judge and thus announced a partial victory
He repeated the claim that Justice Department officials were pulling the strings in the Empire State, while again attacking Attorney General Letitia James, special counsel Jack Smith and even an employee he claimed was in Judge Engoron’s “ear.”
“This guy is getting away with murder.” And his caseworker shouldn’t be allowed to grill him with every single question,” Trump said.
“You should look at her.” “She hates Trump even more than he does,” he suggested.
His attacks come despite warnings about attacks on court staff in other criminal cases.
Smith’s team sought a gag order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, citing many of his previous attacks on prosecutors and even his attacks on the judge herself. She also decided against a request from Trump’s team that she recuse herself.
“Look at Jack Smith. Look at these people. “This is called election interference and worse, much worse,” he said.
In the New York case, where massive fines and the licensing of parts of his real estate empire are at stake, Trump is balancing his court and electoral strategy and his poll numbers are rising despite a series of criminal charges.
He called Judge Engoron a “Democratic club politician” and a “Democratic activist.” After Enogoron’s summary judgment, Trump called him “deranged.”
Engoron attended Columbia University, received his law degree from New York University, and worked as a litigator and court reporter. According to an AP profile, he mentioned attending a Vietnam War protest and driving a taxi in his judgments.
He was elected unopposed to the state Supreme Court.
Trump insulted the judge as he stood just steps from his courtroom
Trump previously called AG Letitia James “racist.” He called her a “disgrace” and said in a tirade before the trial: “You should go after this attorney general.”
Trump has attacked special counsel Jack Smith, who has requested a partial gag order in a criminal case against him
Trump also criticized New York AG Letitia James, calling her a “disgrace to our country.” Look at Jack Smith. Look at these people,” he said.
Judge Engoron is prohibited from hitting back at Trump in the press, even though he has decision-making authority in the non-jury trial.
He also bristled at Mar-a-Lago’s valuation, which the judge cited in a ruling that said Trump had inflated its assets by $2 billion.
Trump cited articles quoting real estate experts who were shocked by the low valuations. He then said the private club was worth $1.5 billion.
“Anyone who does business in New York state is crazy,” said Trump, who moved his official residence to Florida.
Trump used the ratings to make his best argument to the media. “I have a lot of respect for you — not all of you, but many of you,” he said.
When asked why he chose to appear in court in person, he skipped the trial in which he was found guilty of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, saying, “Because I want to watch this myself.” Witch hunts.”
Trump had previously denounced Engoron as a “VILLAIN, OUT OF CONTROL, TRUMP-HATING JUDGE” on his Truth Social platform.
A five-judge appeals court last week rejected a request from Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial. It also reversed another judge’s order that had stayed the proceedings.
In his ruling, Engoron got it right when he noted that Trump had misstated the size of his Trump Tower triplex, listing it as 30,000 square feet instead of 11,000 square feet.
“A discrepancy of this magnitude, when a real estate developer has been valuing its own housing over decades, can only be viewed as fraud,” he wrote.
Trump’s team has argued that a June appeals court ruling puts some of Trump’s conduct outside the statute of limitations.
The judge ruled that he could proceed with the trial.