NEW YORK (PIX11) — Former President Donald Trump left his civil fraud trial after three days of attendance — with New York Attorney General Letitia James calling the appearance at a trial expected to take three months a “stunt.”
Before he departed, Trump weighed in on the ousting of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and continued to attack the attorney general, the judge, and the entire process.
“If we had a jury, we would win this case very easily,” Trump said Wednesday morning. “But I don’t have a jury, and you see what’s happening, this is a railroading — and it’s the beginning of communism in our country.”
That frustration expressed outside the courtroom continued inside. Trump shuffled papers and whispered with attorneys each and every time Judge Arthur Engoron interjected.
Engoron on Tuesday gagged the former president from talking about his staff, after Trump posted about the judge’s clerk on Truth Social.
Engoron will decide the civil fraud case against the Trump family and its businesses, at least in part because the former president’s legal team did not push for a jury trial.
Separately Wednesday, Trump confirmed he has been approached about being Speaker of the House with McCarthy ousted. However, he said his goal is to become president again.
“My focus is totally on that,” he said. “If I can help them during the process, I’ll do it. We have some great people in the Republican Party that would do a great job as Speaker.”
After the former president left, New York’s attorney general said his three-day appearance, and repeated press conferences, had nothing to do with the case. She also accused him of race-baiting rhetoric.
“I will not be bullied,” James said. “The Donald Trump show is over. This is nothing more than a political stunt.”
Trump has pledged to return to testify in the trial.
