Donald Trump says he will not testify in civil fraud trial on Monday
Former President Donald Trump has decided he will not testify as planned on Monday in his New York civil fraud trial.
Trump was previously called to testify on Nov. 6 by lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office has accused him, two of his sons and their company of a decade-long fraud scheme designed to benefit themselves by hundreds of millions by getting unusually good terms on loans and insurance. That day, he clashed with the judge, Arthur Engoron, while answering many questions with long, rambling diatribes.
He was expected to be his team's final witness. The state has indicated it intends to call a pair of witnesses to rebut testimony by real estate and accounting experts called in Trump's defense.
His attorney, Christopher Kise, said in a statement that the former president had "already testified" and "there is really nothing more to say to a Judge who has imposed an unconstitutional gag order and thus far appears to have ignored President Trump's testimony and that of everyone else involved in the complex financial transactions at issue in the case."
"Donald Trump already testified in our financial fraud case against him," James said on Sunday evening. "Whether or not Trump testifies again tomorrow, we have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family. No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don't lie."
Although his last appearance on the stand was on Nov. 6, Trump returned to the New York courtroom on Dec. 7 as his defense team questioned Eli Bartov, who is expected to be their final expert witness.
A spokesperson for the court told CBS News on Sunday night that proceedings will be adjourned Monday. Bartov is expected to conclude his testimony Tuesday.
After the final witnesses are called, the two sides will have more than three weeks to submit written filings to the judge, before meeting again for closing arguments on Jan. 11. Engoron has indicated his final ruling is likely to be issued weeks later.
