Donald Trump swept out of his $250 million New York civil fraud trial on Wednesday, a move that apparently left his Secret Service detail scrambling to follow him and those who remained in the courtroom, including his own lawyers, stunned.

Trumpā€™s dramatic exit was made as Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, was testifying on the stand. Under cross-examination, Cohen denied that Trump had ever asked him to inflate numbers on his personal statementā€”standing by his 2019 congressional testimony.

Trump and one of his lawyers, Alina Habba, ā€œthrew up their armsā€ at this, according to CNN. Another Trump attorney then asked Judge Arthur Engoron for a directed verdict on the case, given Cohenā€™s status as a key witness.

  • PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I think some key things are missing from the excerpt:

    ā€œAbsolutely denied,ā€ Engoron replied, citing evidence ā€œall over the placeā€ supporting New York Attorney General Letitia Jamesā€™ case against Trump.

    The former president was ā€œvisibly angryā€ as he immediately stood up and stormed out, CNBC reported, eliciting gasps from the room.

    Cohen later clarified on the stand that Trump didnā€™t directly order him to inflate numbers. ā€œHe speaks like a mob boss,ā€ Cohen said.

    • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Thanks. Trump storming out after Cohen saying Trump never ordered him to do the illegal thing sounds like Trump stormed out triumphantly. That last sentence really puts the proper context on it.

    • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      ā€œHe speaks like a mob bossā€

      This is a guy who met with Anthony Salerno personally at Roy Cohnā€™s home. He bought property from Salerno and Paul Castellano. He had them build his tower and casinosā€¦

      You donā€™t just hang out and do business with chief mobsters for the hell of itā€¦

    • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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      9 months ago

      Yeah, I had to read the whole article because the summary was confusing.

      It sounded like he ā€œrage quitā€ and stormed out when it was really because he thought ā€œcase closed, Iā€™m outā€.

      • Mossy Feathers (They/Them)@pawb.social
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        9 months ago

        No, it sounds like he did rage quit in this instance. It sounds like Cohen testified in Trumpā€™s defense, which prompted his lawyers to ask for a directed verdict as they believed Cohenā€™s testimony was enough to end the trial. The judge denied it because evidence was ā€œall over the placeā€, which made Trump mad and leave.