Trump reverses on testifying in New York fraud trial, says he won’t take the stand

Former President Trump on Sunday, in a last-minute reversal, said he won’t be testifying again in his New York fraud trial, posting on Truth Social that he has already “successfully and conclusively testified” in the case and had nothing more to say.

Trump had been expected to take the stand Monday to be questioned by his own defense team as the nearly two-month-long trial winds down. Trump previously testified last month under questioning by the New York attorney general’s office and was unexpectedly hauled to the witness stand once before to respond to the judge’s assertion that he had violated a gag order in place.

“As everyone knows, I have very successfully & conclusively testified in the corrupt, Biden directed, New York state attorney general’s rigged trial against me,” Trump wrote Sunday in a Truth Social post.

In a separate post, Trump wrote, “Based on the above, and the fact that our unassailable final expert witness has been so strong and irrefutable in his testimony, which will conclude on Tuesday, & that I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than that this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt, that will do nothing but keep businesses out of New York, I will not be testifying on Monday.”

One of Trump’s lawyers in the case, Chris Kise, reiterated the notion in a statement shortly after the Truth Social post and also referred to the gag order imposed by the judge that limited how much the former president could speak about those overseeing the trial.

“President Trump has already testified. There is really nothing more to say to a Judge who has imposed an unconstitutional gag order and thus far appears to have ignored President Trump’s testimony and that of everyone else involved in the complex financial transactions at issue in the case,” Kise said.

Trump has for months blasted the case as politically motivated, blaming President Biden for pushing the case despite it being brought by New York state officials. Trump has also repeatedly taken aim at those involved in the case, including the presiding judge and his principal clerk, whom Trump claims are biased and motivated by politics.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) $250 million lawsuit alleges over a decade of fraud. The lawsuit alleges that Trump, the Trump Organization and Trump’s two adult sons sought lower taxes and better insurance coverage by falsely inflating and deflating the value of the organization’s assets. Trump and his sons have denied the claims.  

James in a Sunday statement noted that a judge had already found the Trump Organization and its executives liable for fraud before the trial began.

“Whether or not Trump testifies again tomorrow, we have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family. No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don’t lie,” James said.

Under questioning from his own counsel, Trump’s testimony on Monday was anticipated to give the final word in his defense against claims his business engaged in a decade of fraud.

In his other appearance on the stand, Trump defended his business practices and downplayed the key financial documents at the center of the trial.

The former president’s two adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also testified for prosecutors last month, when they attempted to distance themselves from the Trump Organization’s financial statements. Both sons denied any involvement in the making of such statements and instead suggested accountants and other experts were used to check the validly of the numbers. 

Eric Trump also cancelled his testimony for the defense last week, with Trump’s lawyers claiming his testimony “is no longer needed” following testimony from Deutsche Bank representatives and experts that showed the bank sought to work with Trump and diligently checked financial statements.

The defense began presenting its case in mid-November and has heard from several witnesses, whom James argued actually helped her case against the company.  

James claimed one of the expert witnesses admitted the valuations of some properties on Trump’s statement of financial condition were “neither ‘proper,’ nor ‘reasonable,’” while another witness said they were asked by Trump personally to help his case at his Mar-a-Lago club, a conflict of interest. 

“Donald Trump continues to try to distract from reality. You can continue to call me names,” she said in a video message Friday. “But as the judge said today, ‘The standard is truth.’ And the truth is on our side.”

Updated 5:08 p.m.