Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s lawyer, called Judge Arthur Engoron “unhinged” for banging on the table and “yelling” at her to sit down during the former president’s testimony.
In an impassioned defense of her client outside court, Habba claimed Judge Engoron believed Trump had committed fraud before “we even entered this courtroom.”
Trump is accused of inflating his wealth and property value in the $250 million civil fraud trial in New York.
During a break in proceedings, Habba stood outside the building and described the judge’s face “turning red” as Trump sat inside on the witness stand.
She accused the judge of trying to “silence” Trump in his answers to questions about his business empire and the value of Mar-a-Lago.
“Why exactly am I being paid as a lawyer and why exactly are taxpayer dollars being used in this courtroom,” Habba fumed as she claimed Judge Engoron had already jumped to conclusions.
Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba called Judge Arthur Engoron “disgruntled” for banging the table and telling her to sit down during the former president’s testimony
She also accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of trying to “make a name for herself” by calling Trump a “liar” and going after him.
Habba then recounted the moment she was insulted by Engoron during a tense opening statement to the former president’s testimony.
“You have the right to hire an attorney who will stand up and say something when they see something is wrong,” she said.
“But I was told to sit down today. I got yelled at and had a confused judge punching a table.
“I won’t tolerate that in my life, I won’t tolerate it here.” And you know what, you shouldn’t either.’
The lawyer added: “I see such a decline in the American justice system and American democracy. “The judge doesn’t like President Trump explaining what actually happened because it doesn’t serve his narrative well.”
She said the judge “clearly has a problem” and “if you saw his behavior toward me, his behavior toward the president today, he clearly has a problem with facts that are not good for the case.”
“He (the judge) is clearly angry, his face is red, he’s – he came in hot and he doesn’t know how to deal with him (Trump).”
“Why exactly am I being paid as a lawyer and why exactly are taxpayers’ money being used in this courtroom,” Habba said, claiming Engoroan had already jumped to conclusions
In an impassioned defense of her client, Habba claimed Engoran believed Trump had committed fraud before “we even entered this courtroom” during a break in the $250 million fraud trial in New York
Habba spoke shortly after Trump made another series of sharp attacks on James and the judge in a very combative statement.
The angry 77-year-old singled out James, sitting in the front row of the court, and accused her of being a “political hack” who had brought the case against him to help her in her failed bid to become governor of New York will help.
Trump became animated and audibly frustrated as he attacked James and the judge during arguments over property values and net worth that he allegedly inflated by billions.
The front-runner in the Republican presidential race also pointed at the judge and berated him, calling him a “fraud” even though he “didn’t know anything about me.”
Habba claimed Engoran’s face “turned red” when Trump was on the witness stand and accused him of trying to “silence” the 77-year-old former president
The former president sits next to his lawyers Christopher Kise (left) and Alina Habba (right). He was immediately called and sworn in as a witness after criticizing the “political war” against him that only takes place “in banana republics.”
The front-runner in the Republican presidential race also pointed at Judge Arthur Engoron and lambasted him, calling him a “fraud” even though he “didn’t know anything about me.”
The opening hour of his testimony was marked by constant arguments between the judge, Trump and his legal counsel over the former president’s detailed answers to questions about his financial reports
Trump said in court: “He (Judge Engoron) said I was a fraud because I didn’t properly value my property. ‘He’s the one who didn’t manage my property properly.’
The former president also claimed that the real fraud was done “in the name of the court” and stressed that it was worth “billions of dollars more” than shown in the financial reports covering the case.
He is accused of inflating his net worth by up to $6.3 billion in these settlements in order to secure cheap loans.
Confrontations dominated parts of Trump’s testimony as he talked about the value of Mar-a-Lago and again lashed out at the people who brought the case against him.
He focused on Mar-a-Lago, which according to financial reports was worth over $500 million, but the court ruled that it was only worth $18 million.