Trump whiffed on 'softball' question about his financial accuracy: legal expert
Former President Donald Trump dropped the ball on what should have been an extremely easy layup question about his finances in at his $250 million civil court trial in New York, former Mueller Investigation prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said Tuesday.
Weissmann appeared on MSNBC to explain why Trump's answer might have made the case against him that much stronger, despite the fact that Judge Arthur Engoron has already found him liable for fraud.
The question in question relates to financial documents presented to Trump in the courtroom which he admitted he'd signed and were intended to procure loans. When a prosecutor asked Trump to confirm those statements were true, according to Weissmann Trump dropped the ball.
"Essentially, his answer, I'm paraphrasing, was sort of, I'll get back to you," Weissmann said. "That should be a softball. Joy, if I asked you, 'Did you ever file things with a bank that are true and accurate?', you would be like, 'I don't even remember what they are, but of course I did.'"
Anchor Joy Reid agreed.
"Donald Trump's admission on the stand ... seems bizarre," said Reid. "A huge error. Is it just that he's got no self-control? Isn't this case over?"
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Weissmann answered with an emphatic yes: "I think the only issue is what are the kinds of remedies that the judge is going to impose.
"So one of the things the judge will be deciding is whether Donald Trump can continue to do business in the state of New York. Should he still be here? Should he still be banking here, have access to customers in New York?"
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
Beyond the admission, Weismann argues Trump's behavior in the courtroom did him no favors.
"I you have someone who is so unrepentant, who is so out of control, who so much doesn't care about the rule of law, it seems the judge could easily weigh in his conduct here to say, you know what, this is not the kind of person a recidivist we want to have preying on people in New York," Weissmann said. "I think he hurt himself substantively and in terms of his behavior."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
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