N.Y. AG’s office 'struck gold' when Trump went off the rails in courtroom rant: analyst

Former President Donald Trump's five-minute rant in his $370 million civil fraud trial Thursday wasn't curtailed by prosecutors because it was too good a chance to pass up, a legal analyst contends.

MSNBC's Lisa Rubin argues that Trump — accused by Attorney General Letitia James of defrauding lenders by inflating his assets — damaged his case when he addressed the New York City courtroom during closing arguments.

"There may be a reason that James' staff didn't interrupt," wrote Rubin. "The AG’s office may have struck gold."

Rubin pointed to his points on the Trump Tower triplex in Manhattan, which was reported to be three times its actual size in financial statements.

"What Trump said was so damaging to him," Rubin wrote, "especially his explanation of the triplex square footage 'error.'”