Trump’s New York fraud trial grows testy on day three: recap

The New York attorney general’s case in chief ended in a whisper Wednesday afternoon with the uneventful conclusion of Ivanka Trump’s testimony.

Throughout the day, Ivanka Trump testified to her role in several real estate transactions that the attorney general’s office say included misrepresentations, namely through the use of her father’s statements of financial condition to secure loans.

Former President Trump’s eldest daughter maintained a cool demeanor on the stand, answering state lawyers’ questions directly though failing to recall key interactions dating back a dozen years.

On Thursday, Trump’s legal team is expected to argue a motion for a directed verdict, which calls for the judge to immediately bestow a win on the defense. Engoron has already ruled against such a motion, and it’s unlikely he’ll rule differently Thursday. The defense is expected to put on its case starting Monday morning.

— Ella Lee

Judge Arthur Engoron has dismissed Trump’s civil fraud trial for the day, with the first witness in the government’s case still under cross-examination by the defense.

Thursday will begin with more cross-examination of Donald Bender, the ex-Trump accountant, which a defense attorney suggested could carry on through the morning.

Once Bender’s cross-examination is over, Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney — a defendant in the case — is expected to testify.

Defense attorneys indicated that they did not expect time for the government’s fourth witness Thursday.

— Ella Lee

Trump on Wednesday appealed a court ruling that found he committed fraud and ordered his New York business certificates be stripped — as the case is being heard in court.

Trump had previously indicated his team would appeal the ruling, which also denied the former president’s attempt to toss the case entirely and sanctioned his attorneys.

Read more about the appeal here.

— Zach Schonfeld

Camron Harris, an accountant with the firm that represented Trump and his business after Mazars USA cut ties, testified that “responsibility and accountability” fall with the client — not the accounting firm — for the accuracy of financial statements that a firm is hired to compile.

Prosecutors showed an engagement letter from Harris’s firm, Whitley Penn, which said that the firm is “not required to, and will not, verify the accuracy or completeness” of the financial information turned over by the Trump Organization.

“Our engagement cannot be relied upon to identify or disclose any misstatements, including those caused by fraud or error,” the letter read.

Harris’s testimony echoes Donald Bender’s — that it’s not an accountant’s job to catch fraud or other errors in their clients’ documents. Defense attorneys have argued the opposite, suggesting that the accountants are to blame for any errors in the business’ forms — not Trump or his employees.

— Ella Lee

The government has called Camron Harris, an employee of the accounting firm that took over Trump’s taxes after Donald Bender’s firm, Mazars USA, cut ties.

Harris’s testimony follows days of testimony from Bender, Trump’s ex-accountant, the length of which drew rebuke from the trial judge.

Bender is expected to pick up his testimony after Harris is done testifying.

— Ella Lee

A scheduled emergency test by the Federal Emergency Management Agency blared in the courtroom where former President Trump’s civil fraud trial is ongoing, causing a temporary stir before laughter erupted.

When the alarm went off, the whole room froze, with at least one law enforcement officer appearing to reach for a weapon.

One lawyer with the attorney general’s office grabbed the arm of another.

But just a moment later, remembrance of the scheduled alert set in, resulting in a collective sigh of relief and jokes throughout the courtroom.

Trump is not in the courtroom, but New York Attorney General Letitia James is.

— Ella Lee

The trial has taken a lunch break. It is expected to resume at 2:15 p.m. EDT.

While arguing with the defense over questions being asked of Donald Bender on cross-examination, Judge Arthur Engoron said that the ex-Trump accountant “is not on trial here.”

“I would disagree with that,” said Chris Kise, Trump’s attorney.

“His thoroughness, that he got paid millions a year to do — he was a CPA [certified public accountant]. He has certain responsibilities … He seems to recall only what the government wants him to recall,” Kise continued.

“We need to be allowed to parse the evidence,” he said.

“You’re not allowed to waste time,” Engoran replied. “That is what this is becoming.”

The defense also suggested that they would keep Bender on the stand for the rest of the day, which would mark three full days of testimony for the government’s first witness.

“Today?” a lawyer for the New York attorney general’s office exclaimed after hearing the defense’s answer. “There’s no jury. I don’t know who we’re performing for.”

— Ella Lee

The Trump campaign sent an email blast Wednesday criticizing the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its request to place a gag order on Donald Trump — a separate attempt to bar the former president from intimidating witnesses and people overseeing the case than the one the judge in New York placed yesterday.

Trump’s campaign has embarked on a coordinated effort to counterprogram his legal problems while he sits in a New York courtroom this week in a fraud trial involving the illegal inflation of some of his most famed properties. But other cases also loom, including a federal indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“A sham trial in New York was not enough to satisfy these tyrants’ thirst for power. Now the Biden Department of Justice is once again requesting a gag order against me,” according to the email.

“In other words, in just a few short weeks, Crooked Joe’s weaponized DOJ may very well get away with stripping Biden’s leading opponent (ME) of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech in the 2024 presidential election.”

The campaign email was citing a DOJ request last month to limit what Trump can say publicly following online posts threatening witnesses in the federal case.

Read more here.

— Rema Rahman

Judge Arthur Engoron scolded defense attorneys for dragging out their cross-examination of former President Trump’s ex-accountant by repeating the same questions.

Jesus Suarez, the attorney cross-examining Donald Bender, repeatedly asked the same question pertaining to the accountant’s work on Trump’s taxes over each year, drawing a rebuke from the judge.

Trump’s defense team objected to the judge’s order, citing the “extraordinary” relief the New York attorney general is seeking.

“They’re trying to lump together all years,” Chris Kise, Trump’s attorney, said of the attorney general’s case.

He added that different people have different responsibilities each year. Engoron told the defense counsel that they could ask the witness about “every year” but not “year-by-year.”

“What’s the difference? Jesus,” Engoron said, rolling his eyes.

Minutes later, as defense continued to ask the same questions, Engoron stopped questioning again.

“I don’t talk just to hear myself,” he said. “You seem to be doing the exact same thing.”

Defense counsel again pushed back, accusing the judge of not allowing them to make their defense.

The judge said they have had “plenty of time” to defend themselves, and both Kise and Alina Habba said they disagreed. Trump shook his head vigorously.

“This is ridiculous,” Engoron said, pounding the bench. “For the press, I’m pounding the bench again. This is ridiculous.”

“I have a thick skin, but it’s really being pierced here,” Engoron later said.

— Ella Lee

Updated 12:45 p.m.

Former President Trump reentered the courtroom, flanked by multiple Secret Service agents, about 30 minutes after a break was scheduled to end — in the middle of the cross-examination of his ex-attorney.

The former president did not return to the courtroom with his legal team or his son when a 10-minute court break ended.

“OK, let’s pick up where we left off,” Judge Arthur Engoron said, sounding displeased.

— Ella Lee

Judge Arthur Engoron resumed Wednesday’s trial without former President Trump being present after a break following a warning that he would not tolerate delays.

Trump did not return to the courtroom after a 10-minute break, but his counsel and one of his sons, Eric Trump, are present in the courtroom.

— Ella Lee

Former President Trump on Wednesday appeared to rule out serving as Speaker after some House Republicans suggested him for the role, but he declined to back any particular candidate to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after his ouster.

“Lot of people have been calling me about Speaker, all I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters at a Manhattan courthouse, where a fraud trial involving his business empire is taking place.

Read more here.

— Brett Samuels

Former President Trump has been more animated in court during the third day of his trial, frequently shaking his head or throwing his hands up while speaking to counsel.

Trump and Alina Habba, his legal spokesperson and an attorney for some of Trump’s entities, have repeatedly engaged in conversation, with the pair sometimes passing sheets of paper between each other.

The former president notably shook his head when Judge Arthur Engoron quipped to Jesus Suarez, the attorney cross-examining Trump’s ex-accountant, that there is no jury present, implying the attorney could speak more plainly and skip the theatrics.

— Ella Lee

Several Republicans have touted former President Trump to be the next Speaker of the House following the historic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

While a Speaker is not required to be a member of the chamber — and Trump has been floated for the leadership role before — political watchers have noted that Trump should not be eligible this time around because he is under federal indictment.

Still, that hasn’t stopped the likes of 2024 GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from suggesting that Trump be the next House Republican leader.

Trump has previously indicated he has no interest in the role, which he reiterated before entering the courtroom Wednesday where he also opted to not endorse any particular Republican for the post.

The House voted Tuesday to remove McCarthy from his role following an eleventh hour move to pass a government funding bill Saturday in order to prevent a shutdown.

— Rema Rahman

Six pool photographers quickly entered — and just as quickly exited — the courtroom to capture images of former President Trump and his attorneys.

“We do this every day and you look the same,” Judge Arthur Engoron said.

The joke garnered a laugh from the former president.

The judge on the first day of trial said he would allow still photographers in the courtroom briefly but would not allow the trial, which is expected to last until December, to be televised.

— Ella Lee

On Tuesday, the judge overseeing the case issued a gag order on former President Trump after a post on Truth Social that targeted the judge’s principal clerk while she sat just feet away from him in the courtroom.

That didn’t stop Trump posting on Truth Social Wednesday, just minutes before he entered the courtroom.

“Just arrived at the Witch Hunt Trial taking place in the very badly failing (so sadly!) State of New York, where people and companies are fleeing by the thousands. Corrupt Attorney General, Letitia James, is a big reason for this,” Trump wrote.

The former president again said he did “nothing wrong” and railed against the timing of the trial — “right in the middle of my campaign,” he wrote in all-caps.

The post comes after Judge Arthur Engoron, the trial judge, issued a limited gag order on all parties in the case that said they cannot post or talk publicly about members of his staff.

The Truth Social post does not appear to violate the order.

— Ella Lee

Eric Trump, the former president’s second son, walked over to two individual reporters to chat shortly after entering the courtroom.

Before taking his seat, he gave one reporter a fist bump.

— Ella Lee

Former President Trump has arrived in the New York courtroom where the third day of his civil fraud trial will shortly be underway.

The former president made remarks to news media outside the courtroom before entering in lockstep with his son, Eric Trump.

When Trump sat down at the defense table, he immediately began conferring with two of his attorneys, Chris Kise and Alina Habba, actively using his hands while speaking and nodding his head.

— Ella Lee

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has arrived in court a half-hour before the third day of Trump’s civil fraud trial is set to begin.

James took her front-row seat right away, the same one she’s sat in since the trial started Monday.

— Ella Lee