Trump reverses course, says he won’t testify Monday in New York fraud trial
Donald Trump said Sunday that he will not take the stand Monday in his New York civil fraud trail, marking a reversal for the former president who had previously testified during the case.
In lengthy posts to his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump railed on alleged bias against him and said that he had nothing left to add after having already “SUCCESSFULLY AND CONCLUSIVELY TESTIFIED.”
“THE ONLY FRAUD COMMITTED WAS BY THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & OUT OF CONTROL JUDGE, & RACIST A.G,” Mr. Trump posted in all caps. “I WILL NOT BE TESTIFYING ON MONDAY. MAGA!”
In a legal filing, Trump attorney Chris Kise criticized the judge’s gag order on his client, which prohibits him from saying certain things in public about the trial after previously targeting individual court officials.
New York Attorney General Leticia James’ $250 million civil suit against Mr. Trump accuses the Republican presidential frontrunner of defrauding the state over the course of years by using the Trump Organization to inflate or deflate property values in their favor.
Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, though a judge already ruled the company and its leaders were guilty. The ongoing trial will determine the amount that the Trump Organization must now pay.
“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,” Ms. James said in a statement. “No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don’t lie.”
