Key moments from Trump's testimony at New York fraud trial
Donald Trump testified for roughly four hours on Monday at his civil fraud trial in New York, as the former U.S. president used the witness stand to boast about his wealth and lash out at the judge overseeing the case.
Here are four key moments from his testimony:
Judge says "Not a political rally"
While facing questions about his net worth and the value of his assets, Trump tested Justice Arthur Engoron’s patience by rambling about his wealth, the beauty of his properties and his grievances with the justice system.
"Can you control your client?" Engoron asked Trump’s lawyer. "This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom."
Engoron at one point said Trump’s answers were repetitive and irrelevant and warned that he might dismiss Trump as a witness, though that never came to pass.
Trump says property valuations not important
Trump testified that his company did not provide accurate estimates of the value of some of his trophy properties to banks.
Some properties, like his Mar-a-Lago estate and Doral golf course in Florida were undervalued, he said, while others like his Trump Tower residence in New York and his Seven Springs estate north of the city were overvalued.
He said that should not matter because the estimates included language stating that they might not be accurate and banks did not take them seriously.
"You’ve made it important, but it wasn’t," Trump said in reference to the New York Attorney General's office that brought the case.
"I have a castle"
New York state lawyer Kevin Wallace asked Trump if he built any houses in Aberdeen, Scotland between 2013 and 2014, when the value of his property there increased substantially.
“I have a castle,” Trump replied, one of many times where he did not directly answer the question posed.
Referring to a residential development in Aberdeen, Trump said: "I just don’t want to build it now. You’ve probably read, I’m doing other things."
"Hope the public is watching"
Trump grew increasingly agitated as the day wore on, reprising the same inflammatory remarks about Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James that he has routinely made throughout the trial that began on Oct. 2.
"This is a very unfair trial, very, very unfair, and I hope the public is watching," said Trump, a Republican who has accused elected Democrat James of political bias.
