Donald Trump proved a massive piece of AG James' case on the stand: law professor

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace compared Donald Trump to a toddler throwing a tantrum while in court Monday. That's exactly how Judge Arthur Engoron treated Trump, she explained. At the same time, he helped the AG prove a big piece of her case.

"Are you done?" she said, impersonating Engoron. "This is incredible."

Former FBI general counsel and New York University law professor Andrew Weissmann said that the idea of disrespecting people is part of both Trump's and MAGA's brand.

"One of the things you can count on with Donald Trump is institutions and norms that you think you would have to respect — he loves embracing the bad," said Weissmann. "That's his brand. You don't have to respect authority. You don't have to respect courts or journalists. All of that is intentional."

He also said that aside from the "awful behavior" from Trump on the stand, Trump also helped prove the "intent" part of the attorney general's case.

"If you look at the substance of what happened today, there are two things that the state has to prove on the remaining causes of action," Weissmann explained. "There's a cause of action that was found already. But on the 2 through 7 [charges], those are the remaining causes of action, the state has to prove intent, and they have to prove [materiality]. Intent means you have to show that Donald Trump intended or that the Trump Organization intended, or Don Jr. intended, for these to be false. It can't just be a mistake. That wasn't required for the first cause of action. And then reliance and materiality are aspects of the nature of what is being misrepresented. So, from something being material, it just means this is something that a bank would rely on. Or is it frivolous? Is it my favorite color is blue when it's green? Who cares?"

That's where Trump hurt himself in court on Monday, Weissmann said.

"So, on materiality, the state asked those financial statements that you submitted to the banks, your personal guarantee, they were there to be relied on by the banks in order to give you a loan. And Donald Trump said that's right. That is a huge ball of wax that is gone from the case. That's a major part of the defense, he conceded," he closed.

See the conversation in the video below or at the link here.

Donald Trump proved a massive piece of AG James' case on the stand: Law professoryoutu.be