October 25, 2023 - Trump fined for violating gag order in civil fraud trial after taking stand

Michael Cohen is done testifying – at least for now.

Trump’s long-time tax attorney Sheri Dillon, who advised Trump on the Seven Springs estate, is expected to testify first Thursday morning, according to the attorney general’s office.

The former president - who went directly to the airport Wednesday evening after the day’s fireworks - is not expected to be in court.

Donald Trump stormed out of his civil fraud trial after Michael Cohen backtracked in his testimony about whether he was lying to Congress in 2019 when he said that Donald Trump had never directed him to inflate financial payments.

On Wednesday morning, Cohen said he was lying in 2019 when he testified, “not that I recall, no,” in response to a question about Trump had directed him or Allen Weisselberg to inflate numbers for his personal statement.

But on Wednesday afternoon, Cohen said in response to additional questions that he did in fact stand by his congressional testimony that he had not been directed to inflate Trump’s financial numbers.

“So Mr. Trump never asked you to inflate the numbers on his financial statement,” Trump attorney Cliff Robert asked.

“Correct,” Cohen said.

Trump and his attorney Alina Habba threw up their arms at Cohen’s response. Robert then asked the judge for a directed verdict to dismiss the trial because Cohen was a key witness in the case.

Judge Arthur Engoron denied the motion. Trump then said “I’m leaving,” and walked out.

Cohen later clarified in response to questions from the New York attorney general’s office that Trump didn’t directly ask him to inflate the numbers – but the idea was implied.

“He speaks like a mob boss,” Cohen said.

Watch the moment here:

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02:13 - Source: CNN

New York Attorney General Letitia James looks on at the start of former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James says she has “mountains of evidence” after the four-year investigation surrounding the Trump civil fraud trial. 

“This has been a four-year investigation and there is mountains of evidence which basically corroborate the testimony of a number of witnesses,” James told reporters outside the courthouse after a dramatic day in court.

“It’s also important to know that Michael Cohen is not the main witness. His evidence has been corroborated by the mountains of evidence, enough evidence to fill the courtroom. And so, I look forward again, to this trial continuing, and of course I always look forward to justice,” she added.

“And let me also remind you, that the judge has already made a decision with respect to the summary judgement,” James said. “There is sufficient evidence to prove that, in fact, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization and the other defendants committed widespread fraud.

After wrapping up his two-day testimony, Michael Cohen said it was “no problem at all” to share the courtroom with his former boss, Donald Trump.

Cohen hadn’t been in the same room as Trump for five years before he took the witness stand Tuesday to accuse Trump of telling him to manipulate financial statements, a key allegation in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case against Trump.

Asked whether it was difficult to be in the same courtroom as Trump, Cohen said, “Absolutely no problem for me. No problem at all.”

Cohen noted that he and Trump made eye contact “several times” throughout his testimony.

“I saw somebody that knows that it’s the end of the Trump Organization, already found guilty of fraud, the license will ultimately be taken and now this entire case is merely about how much, this is merely about how much disgorgement the attorney general will be seeking,” he added.

Michael Cohen, center, arrives at New York Supreme Court with his attorney on Wednesday, October 25.

An apparent backtrack by Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen threw the New York civil fraud trial into more chaos Wednesday afternoon. 

Cohen gave combative testimony in the face of cross-examination to two Trump attorneys on Wednesday, after he had implicated Trump the day prior for directing him to “reverse-engineer” financial statements to increase his net worth. 

On Wednesday morning, Trump attorney Alina Habba pressed Cohen about his 2019 congressional testimony when he said, “Not that I recall, no,” in response to a question about whether Trump had directed him or Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to inflate numbers for Trump’s personal statement. 

Cohen said to Habba that he was lying in his testimony. 

But after lunch, Cliff Robert, another Trump attorney, pressed Cohen further on his congressional testimony, and the former Trump attorney had a different response, saying that the testimony was not false. 

“So, Mr. Trump never asked you to inflate the numbers on his financial statement,” Robert asked. 

“Correct,” Cohen said. 

That response prompted Trump’s attorney to ask the first time for a directed verdict to dismiss the trial because Cohen was a key witness in the case.  

Engoron denied it, which led to Trump abruptly leaving the courtroom. 

The New York attorney general’s lawyers asked Cohen in follow up questions to clarify his response. Cohen said that Trump never directly asked to inflate the numbers, but that what he wanted was known, because he spoke like “a mob boss.” 

“He tells you what he wants without specifically telling you,” Cohen said. “We understood what he wanted.” 

At the conclusion of Cohen’s testimony, Robert renewed his request for a verdict to and “end this case once and for all.” 

“Absolutely denied,” Engoron said in response. 

The case has evidence, credible or not, “all over the place,” the judge said. 

Engoron also said he didn’t consider Cohen to be a “key witness” in the case, in which the New York attorney general accused Trump and his business of fraud in a $250 million suit. 

“There’s enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom,” Engoron said. 

Before court ended for the day, Donald Trump’s attorneys jumped on a contradiction in Michael Cohen’s testimony to try to throw out the whole civil fraud case against the former president, but their effort was swiftly rejected by Judge Arthur Engoron. 

At the conclusion of Cohen’s testimony, Trump attorney Cliff Robert renewed his request for a verdict and “end this case once and for all.”

The case has evidence, credible or not, “all over the place,” the judge said.

Engoron also said he didn’t consider Cohen to be a “key witness” in the case, in which the New York attorney general accused Trump and his business of fraud in a $250 million suit.

“There’s enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom,” Engoron said.

In this sketch, former President Donald Trump, right, is questioned by Judge Arthur Engoron after appearing to reference a court clerk in comments made outside the courtroom earlier Wednesday, in violation of a gag order.

Court is done for the day, but there have been some major developments earlier Wednesday.

Trump fined $10,000 for violating gag order 

“I gave them a roadmap”: Cohen back on the stand Wednesday

After a brief exchange with Donald Trump’s attorneys, Judge Arthur Engoron said he would not repeal the $10,000 fine he just issued. 

Engoron asked to see Trump’s quote and read it one more time.

He says that the lawyers’ complaints about his clerk are making “my exact point.”

Engoron says he reconsidered and the ruling stands that Trump is fined $10,000.

Former President Donald Trump exits the courtroom during a break in his civil fraud trial on Wednesday.

Donald Trump has been fined $10,000 by a New York judge after appearing to reference a court clerk, in violation of a gag order.

Engoron held a surprise hearing over comments Trump made outside the courtroom earlier Wednesday that could have been referring to a court clerk and therefore violating a gag order.

“I’m going to hold a hearing right now about that,” the judge said.

Engoron asked Trump who he was referring to when he talked about the “partisan person” next to the judge.

“You and Cohen,” Trump responded, referring to his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, who has been testifying Wednesday.

“Are you sure you didn’t meant the person on the other side?” Engoron asked, referring to his clerk.

“Yes I’m sure,” Trump responded.

Engoron excused Trump after attorneys from both sides declined to ask him any questions. “The witness is excused,” Engoron said.

“Thank you your honor,” Trump responded as he returned to his seat at the defense table.

“I hereby fine you $10,000 – which is on the liberal side – to be paid within 30 days,” the judge ruled.

Former President Donald Trump testifies on Wednesday in this courtroom sketch.

Judge Arthur Engoron announced a surprise hearing over comments former President Donald Trump made outside the courtroom earlier Wednesday that could have been referring to a court clerk and therefore violating a gag order.

“I’m going to hold a hearing right now about that,” the judge said.

Engoron asked Trump who he was referring to when he talked about the “partisan person” next to him.

“You and Cohen,” Trump responded.

“Are you sure you didn’t meant the person on the other side?” Engoron asked.

“Yes I’m sure,” Trump responded.

Donald Trump is taking the stand in his civil trial to answer questions from the judge under oath about his comments outside the courtroom.

Former President Donald Trump sits in court prior to the continuation of his civil fraud trial on Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump denied violating the gag order in place against him and said he was not referring to Judge Arthur Engoron’s clerk in critical comments he made earlier Wednesday.

“Did you violate the gag order, Mr. President,” a reporter asked after Trump and others came out of a closed courtroom during the lunch break.

Trump replied, “No.”

Trump also responded, “Not at all,” when asked if he was referring to Engoron’s clerk during the disparaging comments he made at the previous break.

During that earlier break, Trump had complained about Engoron, and then appeared to reference his clerk. “This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him – perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump said.

When asked by Engoron about the comments, Trump attorney Chris Kise had tried to argue that Trump was not talking about the clerk, but actually Michael Cohen, who was next to Engoron in the witness box.

Trump said he could not comment on what happened in the closed courtroom during the lunch break.

Trump also said he “respects the judge” and blamed New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, for “working the trial” so he didn’t get a jury.

“The judge is a Democrat, but I do respect the judge,” Trump said. “She (James) worked the trial so it comes under a certain statute where you don’t get a jury. That’s very unfair.”

Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba spent considerable time walking Michael Cohen through his past statements about Trump – both when he was a loyalist by Trump’s side and after he became one of the former president’s chief antagonists. 

Habba raised several of Cohen’s public statements in 2015 praising Mr. Trump, telling reporters that he’d “take a bullet” for Trump, worshipped him and would never leave him, including a July 2015 CNN interview where he said Trump was worth $10 billion.

The former president sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, shaking his head as Cohen testified that he said he supported Trump and his family and would never leave his now-former boss.

Habba also pressed Cohen on why he wasn’t given a job in the White House. In 2017, Cohen was named as Trump’s personal attorney after he became president.

“There’s no shame in being personal attorney to the president,” Cohen said.

Asked if he was given a White House job, Cohen said: “I didn’t ask for a position,” prompting an objection that he didn’t answer the question.

“I don’t know how I’m going to be given if I didn’t ask for it,” Cohen responded. 

Habba also asked Cohen if he still makes money related to Trump despite his animosity, pointing to his books and podcast, noting Cohen had said that “every podcast” at some point included a reference to Trump.  

“You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump,” Habba said.

“Yes,” Cohen said after a long pause.

Judge Arthur Engoron looks on before the start of former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York on Wednesday.

Judge Arthur Engoron suggested he could enact “severe sanctions” against Donald Trump after the former president appeared to make a reference to Engoron’s clerk in violation of the gag order banning discussion of the judge’s staff.

During a break in the trial, Trump told reporters outside the courtroom, “This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him – perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”

When the court session resumed, Engoron said that Trump’s comments had been brought to his attention and said that he had put the gag order in place following Trump’s posting “defamatory, disparaging, completely untrue statements about the law clerk sitting to my right.”

“I don’t want anyone killed,” he said. 

Engoron levied a $5,000 fine against Trump last week after his social media post that led to the gag order being inadvertently left on his website.

“This recent statement obviously was intentional,” Engoron said. “Why should there not be severe sanctions for this blatant dangerous disobeyal of a clear court order?”

Trump lawyer Chris Kise claimed that Trump was talking about Michael Cohen, not the clerk, noting Cohen was also sitting next to Engoron in the witness box.

“He’s tired of listening to what he’s hearing. And it’s very partisan,” Kise said. “We’re certainly well aware of the order, so that’s the way I took the statement and I believe that’s the way it was intended.” 

Engoron asked,” Can we ask Mr. Trump what he meant?”

Before Trump could speak, Kise answered for his client, saying he asked Trump as much and he said he was referring to Cohen.

The judge said he’d take Kise’s explanation under advisement for now. “It seemed clear to me, but I understand it could be interpreted other ways. I’ll take the whole matter under advisement.”

As he complained again about not having a jury for is civil fraud trial, former President Donald Trump said not only is the judge “very partisan” but so is the person sitting beside him. 

“This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him; perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump said as he asserted that even a negative jury wouldn’t vote against him.

The person sitting beside Judge Arthur Engoron is his clerk.  

Engoron fined Trump $5,000 on Friday for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff – and was warned twice about possible imprisonment.  The fine was handed down because the original post that led to the gag order on the second day of the trial was not erased from Trump’s campaign website.

“If we had a jury it would have been fair, at least. Even if it was a somewhat negative jury, because no negative jury would vote against me,” Trump said.

Trump’s attorney earlier Wednesday asked Engoron to direct the clerk to stop rolling her eyes.

Former President Donald Trump and his attorney Alina Habba wait for the continuation of Trump’s civil business fraud trial in New York on Wednesday.

Trump attorney Alina Habba pressed Michael Cohen on his book and tweets about testifying before the New York attorney general’s office, trying to paint Cohen as the impetus for the attorney general’s case against Trump.

Habba pointed to New York Attorney General Letitia James in the courtroom gallery, who raised her hand. Habba then asked Cohen if he was aware of James’ statement thanking him and crediting Cohen with leading to their investigation.

“You’re welcome,” he responded, looking at James.

“I was being comical,” he added when Habba asked why now was the time to address it.

Cohen also thanked the attorney general on the stand for crediting him with the start of their investigation, saying he never got a chance to thank her in person previously.

Habba then showed Cohen’s tweet from 2022 that included video of James’ announcement of her case against Trump where she referenced Cohen. “My journey to the truth has been filled with sadness, pain and anger. Todays announcement makes it all worth it!!!” Cohen wrote.

Habba then turned to Cohen’s book “Revenge,” where he wrote about testifying before congressional, state, and federal investigators.

Cohen testified the Manhattan District Attorney and Attorney General were working in tandem with attorneys from both offices present at his interviews.

Habba asked Cohen to confirm that the Manhattan District Attorney and Attorney General never brought charges or claims against Cohen, though he told them he was a central player in the inflation of Trump’s financial statements.

“The attorney general must believe that your story is not credible?” Habba asked.

“You’re drawing a conclusion that I don’t know; you can ask Ms. James,” Cohen responded.

“Objection,” James said from the gallery to laughter.

Michael Cohen arrives at New York Supreme Court for former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial on Wednesday.

The New York attorney general’s lawyers objected to Donald Trump’s attorneys accusing Michael Cohen of committing perjury after Cohen acknowledged he lied to the judge who sentenced him in his 2018 federal case.

Cohen said in response to questions from Trump attorney Alina Habba that he was lying when he admitted to tax evasion crimes in his 2018 guilty plea, saying he did not actually commit them.

“Did you lie to Judge (William) Pauley when you said that you were guilty of the counts that you said under oath that you were guilty of? Did you lie to Judge Pauley?” Habba asked Tuesday.

“Yes,” Cohen said.

On Wednesday, Habba once again raised Cohen’s self-described lie, saying that he had admitted to committing perjury under oath.

The remark prompted a vocal objection from New York attorney general attorney Colleen Faherty, who accused Trump’s lawyers of trying to instill “fear and intimidation in the witness” by accusing him of a crime. “The showmanship should not be permitted.”

Trump’s attorneys responded that the allegations were relevant to Cohen’s credibility as a witness. “The attorney general is trying to cover for an extraordinarily defective witness,” said Trump attorney Chris Kise. “We are entitled to bring that out, we’re entitled to raise that.”

Judge Arthur Engoron mostly sided with Trump’s attorneys, saying that Cohen’s lies were relevant, though he said that they didn’t need to use the word “perjury” when discussing them.

Former President Donald Trump speaks before entering the courtroom on Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump said he doesn’t believe reports that his former chief of staff Mark Meadows agreed to an immunity deal with special counsel Jack Smith in the federal investigation around January 6.

“I don’t believe it,” Trump said in response to a reporter question asking if he is concerned about Meadows’ immunity deal, which was first reported by ABC News on Tuesday night. “I’ve spoken to Mark Meadows many, many times over the years and he strongly believes the election was rigged.”

Trump spoke in the hallway just before entering the courtroom for his civil fraud trial in New York, and said the special counsel is trying to trap people to testifying against him.

“Now, of course deranged Jack Smith and the prosecutors, they go after somebody for years and they say, ‘Look, here’s the story, we’ll erect a statue to you or you’re going to go to jail for 10 years,’ having done nothing wrong,” Trump said.

Trump again said Meadows felt the election was rigged and said our nation is in decline, “all because of a rigged and stolen election.”

“Mark Meadows always felt it was rigged, the whole thing was rigged. It was rigged and it was stolen. And because it was rigged and stolen, our country has gone to hell,” Trump said.

The tension between Donald Trump’s attorneys and Judge Arthur Engoron’s court staff showed itself before court gaveled in Wednesday morning.

Trump lawyer Alina Habba asked the judge to have his clerk refrain from “eye rolls and constant whispering.”

Engoron said, “Okay, granted.”

His clerk, Allison Greenfield, did not show any visible reaction to the request.

Greenfield was the subject of a social media post from Trump that resulted in Engoron putting a limited gag order on the former president earlier this month.

During the trial, Engoron and Trump’s lawyers have clashed on a variety of fronts, such as the length and demeanor of questioning during cross-examination of the New York attorney general’s witnesses.

Michael Cohen arrives at New York Supreme Court for former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial on Wednesday in New York.

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, is back on the stand in the former president’s New York civil fraud trial Wednesday morning.

Trump is also back in the courtroom, sitting at the defendant’s table just feet from Cohen.

During his testimony on Tuesday, Cohen implicated his former boss, describing how he manipulated Trump’s financial statements under instruction from Trump – “reverse-engineering” them to hit an arbitrary net worth.

But Cohen got into testy exchanges with Trump lawyer Alina Habba once she began her cross-examination late in the day Tuesday – objecting to several of her questions as Habba walked Cohen through his 2018 federal charges and the loss of his law license. It’s a dynamic that could continue to play out Wednesday as Habba is likely to address Cohen’s testimony about Trump’s financial statements under questioning from the New York attorney general’s office.

Cohen is a key witness for New York attorney general Letitia James in her civil case against Trump and his business. The New York attorney general is seeking $250 million in damages and to bar Trump from doing business in New York.

Former US President Donald Trump appears in the courtroom for his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 24, in New York. 

Donald Trump’s wealth, power and fame acted like a magnet for new associates keen to enter his orbit. But now, key figures who sought a share of his reflected glory are turning against him to save themselves.

The ex-president absorbed a trio of blows Tuesday that worsened his legal peril and underscored how the 2024 election – in which he is the front-runner for the GOP nomination – will play out in the courts rather than traditional voting battlegrounds.

In the most significant development, ABC News reported that Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had met federal prosecutors multiple times and had categorically undermined the ex-president’s narrative about a stolen election. Meadows was the gatekeeper to the Oval Office in the critical days when Trump was allegedly plotting to steal the 2020 election after voters rejected his bid for a second term. CNN has reached out to Meadows’ attorney for comment.

In another damaging twist, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, who blanketed television networks after President Joe Biden’s victory to falsely claim he was elected because of fraud, reached a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors. Ellis on Tuesday tearfully confessed to the felony of aiding and abetting false statements that she and other lawyers told Peach State lawmakers. She was the third former Trump acolyte to agree to testify against the ex-president and others this week. The election subversion prosecution brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is now following the classic playbook of a racketeering case wherein smaller fish are peeled away for reduced sentences to secure their testimony against the alleged kingpin.

“If I knew then what I knew now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. I look back on this experience with deep remorse,” Ellis said.

Read the full analysis here.

Former President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen leaves Trump's civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 24, in New York City. 

Michael Cohen said he had a “heck of a reunion” Tuesday with his former boss Donald Trump when he testified against the former president at his New York civil fraud trial.

With Trump sitting feet away, Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer described how he manipulated Trump’s financial statements – “reverse-engineering” them to hit an arbitrary net worth. Cohen explained how he would inflate the value of Trump’s properties along with the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer.

Once Trump’s lawyer began questioning Cohen, things quickly got heated, as he sneered at the questions and loudly objected to one line of questioning.

Cohen said that he and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg would manipulate Trump’s financial statements, the documents at the center of the civil fraud trial, based on what Trump wanted his net worth to reflect.

Asked what numbers they would hit, Cohen said, “Whatever number Mr. Trump told us to.”

Cohen explained that when Trump would look at the financial statements, he would “look at the total assets and he would say ‘I’m actually not worth 4.5 billion, I’m really worth more like six.’ He would then direct Allen and I to go back to Allen’s office and return after we achieved the desired goal.”

Looking at Trump’s 2012 statement of financial condition, Cohen said he recalled inflating assets including Trump Tower, Trump Park Ave., Trump World Tower at United Nations Plaza, the commercial side of 100 Central Park South, the Mansion at Seven Springs, the Miss Universe Pageants and “possibly others.”

Cohen said that they would look at numbers “being achieved elsewhere” in New York and recalculate valuations using real estate as “comparables” that were achieving the highest prices per square foot in the city, even though those properties had different amenities from Trump’s assets. Those other properties would have different ceiling heights, unobstructed views, and were not inhibited by rent control, for instance.

“You could call them comparable, but comparable would imply that they are similar,” Cohen said.

Read key takeaways.