Letitia James

Lawyers tried to discredit Michael Cohen — but now Trump wants to claim he told the truth

Donald Trump finally revealed what Michael Cohen said that made him think he was declared "innocent" during his New York fraud trial this week.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump ranted against Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, two of his top foes, whom he has called everything from "crazy" to "racist."

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Ivanka’s testimony will throw family under bus while making herself 'look good’: expert

According to one former Donald Trump White House official who spent a great deal of time around Ivanka Trump, she expects Trump's oldest daughter will stress making herself look good in a Manhattan courtroom next week at the expense of her family.

With Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric Trump scheduled to testify in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom this coming week as part of the $250 million civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews claimed she has a good idea what will transpire.

Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt, Matthews explained, "They are a close-knit family and while they have their issues, I don't know that she is going to want to put them in a bad situation and, obviously, because then it will reflect back on her and will look poorly on her and her father."

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"So I think that she is going to be careful with her words and try to protect her family," she continued before adding the caveat, "But, at the end of the day, something I knew very well from working with Jared [Kushner] and Ivanka in the White House was that they were always concerned with their own reputations first."

"We saw this in news stories all the time where, if Trump would enact a policy or tweet something vile out, then in the reporting it would always be, 'Oh, Jared and Ivanka disagreed though or they tried to push back,'" she elaborated. "So, they were always trying to make themselves look good in the media and I think that she is going to be very concerned with how she is coming across with her testimony and be very guarded. So that's going probably be a bigger factor than trying to protect her family."

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Taking the 5th won't save Trump family members in Judge Engoron's courtroom

Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday morning, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade explained that, should Donald Trump and his three children who will be taking the stand in a Manhattan courtroom in the coming weeks attempt to plead the 5th, it could make matters worse for them.

Speaking with fill-in MSNBC host Charles Coleman Jr., McQuade noted that the testimony before Judge Arthur Engoron is part of a civil trial and the use of the constitutional amendment regarding self-incrimination is applied differently than in a criminal trial.

With Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump about to face a grilling by prosecutors working for New York Attorney General Letitia James. McQuade stated the use of the 5th allows the judge in this case to assume the worst.

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"One of the things that's really interesting, Charles, in a civil case, is whether a witness chooses to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination," she began.

"It's not that they're going to be incriminated here, it's that anything they say under oath could be used against them in some subsequent criminal case," she added. "If they believe they have exposure, they can invoke it. But what's different about a civil case from a criminal case is that in this case, Judge Engoron could use that invocation to draw an adverse inference against the witness."

"So if they refused to answer a question, he can assume the worst about what the answer would have been," she elaborated. "I think that's what I'll be looking for most as these witnesses testify this week."

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Trump kids served notice Letitia James 'means business' before fraud trial testimony

Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday morning, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance suggested that Donald Trump's children, who will be testifying in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom this coming week, can expect no mercy if they are caught lying.

Speaking with host Katie Phang, Vance said Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump will have to make up their minds before they testify in New York Attorney General Letitia James $250 million financial fraud case whether they want to face the wrath of their father by testifying truthfully or if they want to end up in jail.

As Vance told the MSNBC host, "We will see all of Donald Trump's grown children testifying next week. They all have to decide, do they want to tell the truth or do they want to stay in daddy's good graces since the consequences of committing perjury are likely to be a prosecution."

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She continued, "It's very clear that New York's attorney general means business.'

"I think this could be a very interesting week ahead," she added with a smile.

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Donald Trump Jr. singled out as weakest link before his NYC fraud trial appearance

Now that Supreme Court 1st Judicial District Judge Arthur Engoron has scheduled Donald Trump and three of his children, Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric, to testify in the $250 million fraud trial involving the Trump Organization, all eyes will turn to the Manhattan courtroom next week for what promises to be explosive testimony.

Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt on Saturday morning, NBC correspondent Ryan Reilly was asked by the host which one of the Trump kids has the potential to set off the most "fireworks" while being grilled.

With Ivanka Trump eliminated because she has the least to lose since a court ruled her participation in financial fraud schemes — the centerpiece of New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil suit because of the statute of limitations, Reilly was quick to finger Don Jr. as a potentially hostile witness.

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"Ryan, do you expect bombshell testimony in this last week when you have Don Jr., Eric and potentially Ivanka as well testifying?" host Witt prompted. "Look, let's face it, with some of them in the past when they've gotten on the stand, it's been a lot of 'I don't recalls.' But what do you expect this time around?"

"I think Don Jr. is most like his father and sort of gets really revved up very easily, it's not that difficult," Reilly immediately replied." It does seem to get him really heated and poke at him in the right way. I think that is the one where I expect the most explosive testimony."

"Obviously Eric Trump has been thoroughly parodied on SNL but he's known as someone who is not as heated probably as Trump Jr. has been, if you look at the titles of the books that he sells and sort of this macho personality that we see on the air," he added.

"So that is where I would expect you to get the most possibility of sort of getting heated outside of his comfort zone," he concluded.

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'Crazed in his hatred for me': Trump blows top over judge ordering Ivanka to testify

It took less than 24 hours after Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Ivanka Trump to testify in the financial fraud trial swamping the Trump Organization in a Manhattan courtroom for Donald Trump to blow his top and lash out at the jurist.

On Friday, Engoron ruled that the president's oldest daughter must obey a subpoena from the state of New York and make an appearance in the $250 million financial fraud civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

On Saturday morning, the former president went on a wide-ranging tirade aimed at Engoron by writing: "I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me."

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In total Trump wrote, "My daughter, Ivanka, was released from this Fake Letitia James case by the Court of Appeals, but this Trump Hating, Unhinged Judge, who ruled me guilty before this Witch Hunt Trial even started, couldn’t care less about the fact that he was overturned. I also won on Appeal on Statute of Limitations, but he refuses to accept their decision. I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me."

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'Complicity': Ivanka Trump's testimony could ruin it all for her dad and brothers

When Ivanka Trump finally takes the stand in Judge Arthur Engoron's Manhattan courtroom, she will be put in the position of providing devastating testimony about financial deals which could take down the Trump Organization — and her father and her brothers with it.

And then she will be able to walk away due to an earlier court ruling removing her from the case.

On Friday, Engoron set next Friday for Donald Trump's oldest daughter to appear in court and testify in New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 financial fraud civil suit that could effectively shut down the Trump Organization as key financial negotiations she previously participated in on several real estate deals will take center stage in the trial.

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According to a report from Business Insider, Ivanka's "testimony at the non-jury trial could prove highly damaging to her father and two eldest brothers, Donald Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump – Trump Organization vice presidents who, like their father, are defendants in James' lawsuit."

Among the deals she will be compelled to discuss is her participation in using dummied-up valuations for properties to seek favorable loan terms while she served as an officer in the Trump Organization.

In AG James filing, she wrote, "Ms. Trump caused misleading financial statements to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the federal government."

Based upon that accusation, the former president's daughter can expect to be asked about three Deutsche Bank loans that she was party to as a negotiator for the Trump Org as they sought an underwriter.

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Trump's hush money prosecutors now have a roadmap after Michael Cohen testimony

Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's two days of testimony this week in New York Attorney General Letitia James' financial fraud civil suit handed members of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office valuable information into how to use the former Trump "fixer" when the Stormy Daniels hush money criminal trial convenes.

The ways in which Cohen handled cross-examination questions from Trump's lawyers defending the former president in the $250 million suit levied against Trump and the Trump Organization being held in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom was closely monitored by Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger who will be taking the lead in Trump's other Manhattan trial.

According to a report from the New York Times, Hoffinger sat in the gallery and took notes on Cohen's strengths and weaknesses under questioning, thereby gaining insight into how to prep him for the trial centered on hush money payments made to adult film star Daniels made during Trump's first presidential run.

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Of concern to prosecutors is Cohen's credibility after admitting during his second day on the stand this week that he had previously lied while under oath.

With the Times noting that Cohen was the conduit Trump used to pay off the adult star, one legal expert claimed the experience of watching Cohen being grilled hands prosecutors an advantage.

Former Manhattan prosecutor Daniel J. Horwitz told the Times, "The jury might find him detestable and despicable as an individual. But they may choose to believe him because when he says, ‘I had conversations with Donald Trump about paying hush money to Stormy Daniels,’ it’s backed up by other witnesses and other pieces of evidence.”

The Times report added that this week prosecutor Colleen Faherty used the strategy of being upfront about Cohen's credibility from the outset, which will be helpful in the hush money trial that will be tried before a jury, unlike the current one before Judge Engoron.

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'Sad-looking': Michael Cohen says he saw Trump in court as a 'deflated individual'

The fixer saw his one-time boss and became comfortably numb.

"It wasn't until I took the seat by the judge's stand that I was confused on how I was gonna be," Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's one time "fixer" and attorney told CNN's Erin Barnett on "Out Front" during an appearance Wednesday night.

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'No idea': Trump tax lawyer dodges questions about estate valued at 5 times over appraisal

Tax attorney Sheri Dillon wrapped up her testimony in the New York civil fraud case against Donald Trump by dodging questions about a $56.5 million estate Trump said was worth $291 million, according to live updates from the courtroom.

When prosecutor Louis Solomon demanded to know if Dillon shared with the Trump Organization the findings of a 2015 appraisal of the Seven Springs estate in New York, Dillon dodged, ABC News reports.

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Trump given deadline to decide if he wants his Jan. 6 trial to be televised

A judge set a deadline for Donald Trump to decide whether he wants his federal election subversion trial to be televised.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan notified the former president that he has until Nov. 10 to issue a petition on whether the trial in Washington, D.C. should be broadcast live when it starts, which is scheduled to be almost four months later.

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Here's when Trump will likely testify at NY fraud trial

A date has been set for former President Donald Trump to testify in the New York civil fraud trial.

The Messenger reports that Trump is scheduled to take the stand on Monday, Nov. 6 when he will face off against prosecutors from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office.

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Trump boosted golf course value by more than $100m over appraisal: Court evidence

Former Donald Trump tax attorney Sheri Dillon was questioned on the stand about a golf club that evidence suggests the Trump family overvalued by over $100 million, ABC News reported on Friday.

Dillon, according to the report, "Testified that when working on a conservation easement for the driving range at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles in 2014, she received an appraisal that valued the entire club at $107 million" — however, when state attorneys showed her a spreadsheet revealing the property was estimated by the Trump Organization to be valued at $213 million that exact same year, she said she wasn't associated with that estimate.

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