Trump's courtroom antics warrant a 'mental competency' screening: attorney

Reflecting on Donald Trump's appearance in a Manhattan courtroom where he was sworn in and immediately launched furious attacks on Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, trial attorney Shan Wu claims it would have been understandable for a motion to be made to have the former president's competency tested.

In a column for the Daily Beast, Wu complimented the state's trial strategy to let the former president rant and rave, which led to multiple admonishments from Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the $250 million financial fraud trial.

According to the attorney, Trump's rambling answers did nothing to help his case as his Trump Organzation faces the threat of closure with its assets sold off.

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"Mostly, however, Trump simply threw tantrums," Wu added. "The morning testimony marked the high point of combativeness, with Judge Engoron asking Trump’s lawyers at one point to better control him. Trump’s lawyer responded that it was the judge’s job to control the courtroom."

With that in mind he asserted that he has rarely seen a person on the stand get away with such behavior and called into question what is going on with the former president.

"In my experience, the extent of Trump’s behavior is far outside the norm for witnesses. Ranting against the court system, prosecutors, and the court during testimony would normally be considered highly unusual—and it’s even more unusual that Trump’s lawyers appear to be supporting his behavior," he wrote. "I have seen far less egregious behavior by a defendant result in a request that the defendant be screened for mental competency. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s courtroom strategy will have any success legally, but Trump’s team may ultimately remember Judge Engoron’s last gesture to Trump today."

"At the end of his testimony, as Trump left, Engoron raised his left hand, as if to say: 'Bye-bye,'" he noted.

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