An “ugly” final day in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial saw his lawyers whipping out anonymous online student reviews to discredit an Ivy League professor who testified the former president committed fraud, according to reports.
Jesus Suarez came to court with “RateMyProfessors.com” reviews he hurled at Dr. Eric Lewis, a Cornell University accounting professor who said in court Wednesday that Trump Organization records lacked important financial disclosures, according to multiple reports.
"Suarez is just reading bad ratemyprofessors.com reviews of Eric Lewis to discredit him," wrote Courthouse News’ Erik Uebelacker. "Lol."
He earlier warned, "This shouldn't take long, but it could be ugly."
Among those reviews, according to Uebelacker, was the comment “Good class if you want to chill and not learn much."
Rate My Professors may not set the highest standard of accuracy as the "Friends" character Ross Geller, a fictional paleontology professor at NYU, reportedly has a profile.
This final day in court follows a marathon trial to determine damages owed by Trump, who Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled is liable for fraud. New York Attorney General seeks upwards of $250 million and a ban on doing business in her state. Trump denies wrongdoing.
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Suarez’ redirect followed a tense hour that saw state attorney Kevin Wallace trying to question his expert as Trump Attorney Chris Kise raised objections at least 14 times, ABC News reports.
When Wallace reportedly voiced his frustration, Kise snapped back, "Petulant outbursts don't really play well in the courtroom.”
The testimony delivered amid the back-and-forth baffled Judge Arthur Engoron, who at one point admitted, "I am lost," according to ABC news.
Suarez’s rebuttal appears to have come to an abrupt end when he tried to call Lewis on not being certified as a public accountant, according to Uebelacker.
"Q: Did they teach you how to read [accounting] standards in engineering school?'
"A: Who’s ‘they?’
"Q: 'Withdrawn.'
“That's it for rebuttal,” Uebelacker concluded. “The People of NY rests its case.”
