Trump launches scathing attack on judge

NEW YORK: In the ongoing civil fraud trial in New York, former US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Wednesday against the judge overseeing the case, Judge Arthur Engoron, as his eldest son, Don Jr, prepared to take the witness stand.

The trial, which centers around allegations of financial fraud, poses a significant threat to Trump’s business empire and has been a matter of keen interest given the former president’s status as the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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As the trial progresses, both Don Jr, aged 45, and his younger brother, Eric Trump, aged 39, are slated to provide testimony this week. The Trump Organization, a vast network of companies managing real estate, hotels, and golf courses worldwide, is at the center of the allegations.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James accuses the Trump brothers, as well as their father, of artificially inflating the value of the organization’s assets by billions of dollars, ostensibly to secure more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.

In a series of vitriolic posts on his Truth Social platform, the former president did not mince words when attacking Judge Engoron, whom he labeled as a “political hack” who is allegedly “doing the dirty work for the Democrat Party.”

Trump accused Engoron of being “crazy, totally unhinged, and dangerous,” and passionately implored the judge to “leave my children alone,” while dubbing him a “disgrace to the legal profession.”

It’s worth noting that the trial’s schedule may see Trump himself taking the witness stand on Monday, nearly a year before the crucial November 5, 2024, presidential election, which he hopes will mark his return to the White House. Additionally, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who served as an advisor in her father’s White House but is not a defendant in the case, is expected to testify later in the week.

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Throughout the trial, Don Jr and Eric Trump have consistently maintained their innocence, following the defense’s line of argument that the valuations of the Trump Organization’s assets, such as Trump Tower and a building at 40 Wall Street, were accurate and that banks did not incur any losses in their dealings with the organization. As the trial unfolds, the outcome remains uncertain, with its potential implications reaching far beyond the courtroom.