OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump announced late Sunday that he would not be testifying as planned at his civil fraud trial in New York on Monday.
In a Truth Social post, Trump called Judge Arthur Engoron “biased” and ripped on New York Attorney General Letitia James, as well as President Joe Biden, for engaging in “election interference.”
Trump posted in all caps:
LETITIA “PEEKABOO” JAMES, & THE SAME TEAM FROM THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DRIVING EXXONMOBIL OUT OF NEW YORK, TAKING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAXES & THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO DALLAS, & OTHER CITIES. ON TOP OF ALL THAT, PEEKABOO, REPRESENTING NEW YORK STATE, LOST THE CASE!
DON’T FORGET, IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE FAKE & FRAUDULENT “CASE” THAT PEEKABOO HAS BROUGHT AGAINST ME, THEIR SO-CALLED “STAR,” & ONLY, WITNESS, SLEAZEBAG & DISBARRED FORMER LAWYER, MICHAEL COHEN, ADMITTED IN COURT TO REPEATEDLY LYING UNDER OATH. IT WAS A TOTAL BREAKDOWN, A NON-RECOVERABLE PERRY MASON MOMENT. THAT ALONE ENDS THIS BIDEN DRIVEN WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!
Earlier, he posted “PAGE 1” and “PAGE 2” messages:
Page 1: STATEMENT OF 45th PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP! AS EVERYONE KNOWS, I HAVE VERY SUCCESSFULLY & CONCLUSIVELY TESTIFIED IN THE CORRUPT, BIDEN DIRECTED, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S RIGGED TRIAL AGAINST ME. WORLD RENOWNED EXPERTS, HIGHLY RESPECTED BANK & INSURANCE EXECUTIVES, REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS, AS WELL AS OTHERS, BOTH HONEST & CREDIBLE, HAVE STATED, CLEARLY & UNEQUIVOCALLY, THAT I, & MY VERY SUCCESSFUL COMPANY, DID NOTHING WRONG! MY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WERE CONSERVATIVE, LIQUID, & “EXTRAORDINARY.” A TOP PROFESSOR FROM NYU STERN SAID, “IF MR. TRUMP WERE MY STUDENT, HE WOULD GET AN ‘A’ ON HIS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. IV’E NEVER SEEN A STATEMENT THAT PROVIDED SO MUCH DETAIL, & IS SO TRANSPARENT, AS THESE STATEMENTS.” PLUS, THEY ALL HAVE AN IRONCLAD DISCLAIMER CLAUSE STATING THAT THE USERS MUST DO THEIR OWN DUE DILIGENCE & ANALYSIS – NO RELIANCE! THE ONLY FRAUD COMMITTED WAS BY THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & OUT OF CONTROL JUDGE, & RACIST A.G. (WHO PROMISED THAT, “I WILL GET TRUMP”)….
Page 2: THEY CLAIMED THAT MAR-A-LAGO WAS WORTH ONLY $18,000,000, WHEN IT IS WORTH 50 TO 100 TIMES THAT AMOUNT, IN ORDER TO ILLEGALLY REDUCE MY VALUES & MAKE A FAKE CASE AGAINST ME. THEY DID THIS ON OTHER PROPERTIES, AS WELL, & WOULDN’T GIVE ME A JURY. LIKEWISE, THE A.G. THUGS DO NOT WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE PAID ALMOST 300 MILLION DOLLARS IN NEW YORK CITY & STATE TAXES DURING THE YEARS IN QUESTION. IMPORTANTLY, I WON AT THE APPELLATE DIVISION, WHICH EFFECTIVELY ENDED MOST OF THE CASE, BUT THE BIASED JUDGE REFUSED TO ACCEPT THEIR ORDER, AN UNHEARD OF FIRST! BASED ON THE ABOVE, AND THE FACT THAT OUR UNASSAILABLE FINAL EXPERT WITNESS HAS BEEN SO STRONG AND IRREFUTABLE IN HIS TESTIMONY, WHICH WILL CONCLUDE ON TUESDAY, & THAT I HAVE ALREADY TESTIFIED TO EVERYTHING & HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS A COMPLETE & TOTAL ELECTION INTERFERENCE (BIDEN CAMPAIGN!) WITCH HUNT, THAT WILL DO NOTHING BUT KEEP BUSINESSES OUT OF NEW YORK, I WILL NOT BE TESTIFYING ON MONDAY. MAGA!
James has charged Trump with overinflating the value of his properties in order to get more favorable loan rates over the years. She is seeking $250 million in fines and a ban on him doing business in the state of New York. Prior to the civil fraud trial, Engoron ruled that Trump defrauded the banks, though during his case, bank officials testified that they were never harmed and Trump always paid back what he borrowed.
The former president already provided testimony on November 6 in the case, refuting the claims made by James that he significantly inflated the value of his properties to secure favorable loans from banks.
Trump has previously launched attacks against both James, referring to her as a “political hack,” and Engoron, whom he characterized as a “very hostile judge.”
