The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump‘s business fraud trial threatened to have the former President removed from the witness stand if he continued to avoid answering the prosecution’s questions.
New York Attorney General Letitia James‘ case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.
James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New York.
On Monday, Trump took the witness stand after months of firing off repeated attacks against Judge Arthur Engoron and his staff on social media. Eventually, the judge imposed a gag order on Trump after the former President targeted one of his clerks in a rant on Truth Social. (RELATED: Trump Fined Over Gag Order In Fraud Trial)
During his time on the stand, Trump repeatedly launched into monologues, causing Engoron to repeatedly instruct him to answer the questions he’s asked.
“You can attack me, you can do whatever you want, but answer the question,” shot back Engoron after urging Trump’s legal team to get him in line.
“I beseech you to control him if you can,” Engoron told Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise. “If you can’t, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can.”
Engoron also snapped at another member of Trump’s team, Alina Habba, after telling the judge that he was there to hear what Trump has to say.
“I’m not here to hear what he has to say. He’s here to answer questions,” replied Engoron.
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