'Bombshell exchange' at Trump fraud trial sparks 'instant objection' from lawyer

Patrick Birney, an assistant vice president for financial operations at the Trump Organization, delivered explosive testimony on Monday that drew a furious reaction from an attorney representing former President Donald Trump.

As reported by The Messenger's Adam Klasfeld, an attorney representing New York Attorney General Letitia James' office asked Birney whether former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg had ever told him that Trump wanted to see his net worth on his statements of financial condition go up from year to year, to which Birney replied, "Yes."

Klasfeld then added that this "bombshell exchange instantly sparked an objection by Trump's lawyer Chris Kise," who argued that Birney's testimony in this matter should be inadmissible on the grounds that it is "the heart of hearsay."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

Forbes reporter Dan Alexander added some context to Birney's testimony, which he said would leave a mark regardless of whether Judge Arthur Engoron finds it admissible.

"His testimony, delivered in monotone with long pauses, was certainly not theatrical," wrote Alexander, who has become a frequent target of Trump for his reporting on the ways the former president fraudulently inflated his net worth. "But the actual words he said were devastating to his employer, the Trump Organization – and ultimately to Donald Trump."

For customer support contact support@rawstory.com. Report typos and corrections to corrections@rawstory.com.

President Donald Trump once again dove into familiar grievances during a rally-style speech on Friday in which he relitigated the 2020 election – and complained at length about the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, including what he said happened to First Lady Melania Trump’s underwear drawer.

As he has repeatedly done, Trump returned to his false, five-year-old claims that the 2020 election was “rigged,” telling the crowd that Americans went to bed believing he had won, only to wake up to a different result. He again suggested the outcome was fraudulent, adding: “By the way, you have not heard the last of that.”

Trump then pivoted to the 2022 FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago beach resort, framing it as a personal and political attack. He told the audience he was not home when agents arrived to conduct “a raid of a popular president, a former president,” before launching into an unusual digression about his wife.

Describing Melanie Trump as “a very meticulous person,” Trump told the crowd of rallygoers that the First Lady makes sure “everything is perfect” with her belongings.

“Her undergarments – always nice, sometimes referred to as panties – are folded perfect, wrapped. They’re like, so perfect. I think that she steams them, makes sure they’re just sitting.”

According to the president, that order was disrupted during the search. “She opened the drawers, and it was not that way,” he said. “They were a mess. It was all over the place.” He claimed agents also went into his son’s room, declaring, “These thugs are disgusting, and we cannot let them get away with this stuff.”

“We have all the evidence now,” Trump added. “We have to do something about it! It’s illegal, and it’s disgusting.”

As Trump’s speech passed the one-hour mark, people in the crowd began to walk out, The New York Times reported Friday. Some rallygoers on stage behind the MAGA leader could also be seen on a live feed leaving the stage as Trump continued to speak for nearly 90 minutes.

“If I didn’t get elected, our country would be ruined; we would’ve not have had a country,” he told the crowd. “I’m not bragging about myself; I’m saying we would not have had a country. And now we have the greatest country in the world. I’m telling you – we’re the hottest.”

Trump made no mention of the release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein during his Friday night remarks in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING! ALL ADS REMOVED!

Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon ignited fresh infighting inside MAGA world on Friday after unloading on fellow right-wing influencer Ben Shapiro during remarks at AmericaFest 2025, Turning Point USA’s annual conference.

Speaking from the main stage in Phoenix, Bannon mocked Shapiro’s speech from the night before and accused him of being fundamentally opposed to President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

“Now, Benji Shapiro sat up here last night, and he was all, you know, it’s all about the truth,” Bannon said. “Ben, I’ve known you a long time, brother. You can’t handle the truth!”

While some in the crowd appeared to be surprised, most erupted in cheers and applause. He went on to declare: “Let’s face it, Ben Shapiro is the farthest thing from MAGA. Let’s be blunt, he is a hardcore 'Never Trumper.”'

Bannon then accused Shapiro of attempting to undermine Trump during the 2016 campaign, claiming Shapiro tried to shift support to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and “barely supported Donald Trump” in the general election. He also claimed Shapiro “tried to upend Breitbart,” the conservative publication, and alleged that the MAGA influencer “hated Donald Trump.”

But Bannon wasn’t done just yet. He added that once Trump left the Oval Office after losing the 2020 election, Shapiro quickly backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Those were the darkest days we had,” Bannon told the crowd, referring to the post-2020 election period. “He’s consistently been against Trump.”

Shapiro, for his part, called Bannon during his speech on Thursday a "PR flake for Jeffrey Epstein," and labeled him and fellow conservatives, including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Megyn Kelly as “frauds and grifters," Salon reported.

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Friday scolded Republicans over a series of positions he deemed incompatible with conservative ideology — and MAGA fans were not happy.

In a post on X, Ramaswamy outlined what he characterized as core values for the conservative movement.

"It’s a time for choosing in the conservative movement," he wrote.

Ramaswamy said those who support trans athletes competing in sports consistent with their gender identity, advocate for affirmative action policies, or promote hatred toward any racial or ethnic groups lack "have no place in this movement."

He also rejected admiration for historical authoritarian figures, specifically naming Hitler and Stalin.

"If you believe in normalizing hate towards whites, blacks, Indians, or Jews, you have no place in this movement. If you believe Hitler was cool, you have no place in this movement. If you believe Stalin should be admired, you have no place in this movement. If you call Usha Vance a 'jeet,' you have no place in this movement."

He concluded, "And if you don’t have the guts to say these things without stuttering, then you have no place as a leader in this movement."

MAGA fans melted down that Ramaswamy was scolding conservatives about their own movement.

X user Ollie Arogundade, who describes himself as an American Christian nationalist, blasted Ramaswamy.

"You know nothing about this country or how culture works. White men established this nation because White culture from White genetics is based in philosophy, innovation, and exploration," said Arogundade. If you honestly think we can replace the all white people in this country with Indians who do not represent philosophy, innovation, and exploration as we all see with the current state of India, then you’re simply a fool, Vivek."

He added: "You and the rest of your tech bros can f--- right off, and I’ll personally ensure you guys lose any attempted race in 2028."

Fellow X user Matt DeCata railed, "Racial quotas in terms of immigration are a good and neccesary thing. And we should absolutely kick Vivek out of the 'consvertive movement' rather then compromise on that."

Philip Funderburg, a Republican insurance agent running for governor, raged on X, "I believe you don’t have Good Moral Character. Deporting @VivekGRamaswamy 2027@VivekGRamaswamy 2027! Make Ohio Great Again Funderburg for Governor 2026."

Ben Frank mocked Ramaswamy on X, "'Let me tell you what an American is' - Vivek Ramaswamy."

Nicholas J Stelzner simply wrote on X, "Deport him."

And Noah Wall wrote on X, "Interesting campaign strategynteresting campaign strategy for Ohio statewide office."

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}