Just earlier today, we reported on an analysis from former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, who believes that Trump has been extra wild in public here lately, because he’s desperately trying to distract American voters from a damning new piece of video evidence that was released in his ongoing New York fraud case this week.
Now we know why he didn’t want anyone to see it.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office publicly released the footage from ex-President Trump’s damning video deposition in the ongoing civil fraud trial this week. AG James is currently in the midst of a civil fraud trial against the former president and New York real estate “mogul” and his two eldest sons for allegedly knowingly over and underinflating the value of various assets owned by the Trump Organization, in an effort to receive more favorable treatment from banks, insurance companies, and the IRS.
As a result of this alleged fraud, AG James is seeking not only hundreds of millions of dollars in fines against the ex-president and his sons but also seeking the dissolution of his Trump Organization family company and asking the judge to bar the former president from ever conducting business in the state of New York again.
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The Guardian just released new reporting on the 7-hour, closed-door video deposition that took place in April of last year and went public yesterday.
The footage gives viewers a new glimpse into Donald’s change in demeanor from one second to the next, as he goes from calm, collected, and cocky — at one point even ripping the AG’s lawsuit as a “disgrace” and a “terrible thing” — to pouty, petulant, defiant, and indignant as the state attorney general hammered him down.
Throughout the entire video, Trump’s emotions can be read all over his face and in his body language. He pouts and smirks, he crosses his arms like a toddler and curls up his nose in disgust, at one point complaining that he was being forced to “justify myself to you” after decades of building his real estate empire, only to have his whole world on the precipice of dismantle by a Black woman.
Trump played hard and heavy on his politically motivated “witch hunt” trope, as we see him giving James a clear and sleazy smirk as she introduced herself to the former president and explained that she was “committed to a fair and impartial legal process.”
The New York Attorney General’s office released the footage this week in response to multiple requests from various media outlets under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
In the deposition, Trump relied heavily on every excuse he has harbored in his shakey defense — ranging from claims that James’ doesn’t “have a case” because “I don’t believe I ever got even a default notice” to claims that it doesn’t matter if his financial records were wildly inaccurate, because “I have a clause in there that says, ‘Don’t believe the statement. Go out and do your own work.’ You’re supposed to pay no credence to what we say whatsoever.”
In one of the worst moments of the deposition, Trump demanded that prosecutors look out the window for a view of his 40 Wall Street office tower that sits just across the street from the AG’s office.
Investigators asked Trump how the property was doing financially, to which he responded, “Good. It’s right here. Would you like to see it?”
“I don’t think we’re allowed to open the windows,” state attorney Kevin Wallace answered.
The former president simply demanded, “Open the curtains,” as he shook his head around, terse, waiting for someone to hop to their feet and meet his demands.
You can watch a clip of the deposition from The Guardian here:
Featured image via screen capture
