Analyst Declares Trump’s Defense Strategy ‘Utter failure’ Predicts Imminent Demise of His Company

William FurneyNov 12, 2023

Minute Read

Donald Trump’s rants and attacks in a New York City courtroom where he’s on trial for business fraud was not the right defense strategy and could cost him his prized company, a legal analyst has said.

Judge Attacked

Trump has repeatedly come under fire from the judge overseeing and solely deciding the case, Arthur Engoron, who was this week subject to an attack by Trump when the former president was testifying in the case.

Verdict Prediction

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Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, former prosecutor Joyce Vance said she believed Trump would lose control of his Trump Organization real estate empire and also be hit with a fine of $250 million.

Attack Strategy?

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Morning Joe host Jonathan Lemire wanted to know if Trump’s rants in the courtroom and attacks on the judge were all part of the defense’s approach to winning.

‘Utter Failure’

Vance told Lemire: “If that was the strategy, Jonathan, it was an utter failure.” As there was no jury in the case, everything is being directed at the judge, she said, suggesting Engoron may have been more lenient on Trump as a result.

‘Prejudicial Comments’

Vance continued: “If there was a jury in the box, the judge would have been forced to restrict Trump’s answers; he would have directed Trump as a witness to answer the question. He would have been moving to strike any of these extraneous comments Trump continued to make which weren’t admissible and which were prejudicial.”

‘End of Trump Organization’

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The former prosecutor predicted that Trump’s famous company would be taken away from him. “The Trump Organization is liable. In essence, the Trump Organization as a business will be shuttered. They will remove its certificate to operate,” said Vance.

The Case

New York Attorney General Letitia James charged Trump, his adult sons Donald Jr and Eric, as well as senior executives at the Trump Organization, of committing years of fraud. They were alleged to have illegally inflated the value of their real estate holdings in order to secure cheap loans from lenders including Germany’s Deutsche Bank.

Engoron’s Ruling on Fraud

The trial has already decided that fraud was committed at the Trump Organization, with Judge Engoron ruling there was “convincing evidence” it did occur. As a penalty, he revoked several of the company’s licenses to do business in New York and appointed an independent monitor to oversee operations at the company.

Prosecutors’ Demands

The attorney general wants the court to ban Trump from doing business in New York, strip him of all his licenses and impose a fine of at least $250 million.

Trump Testimony

Trump testified at the trial on Monday and said: “I’m sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me, but this is well beyond the statute of limitations.”

Judge Engoron said he didn’t care about being attacked but wanted the defendant to answer prosecutors’ questions instead of giving rambling and evasive answers.

‘Control Trump’

Judge Engoron grew frustrated during Trump’s testimony when the former president continue to evade prosecutors’ questions. The judge addressed Trump’s legal team, saying: “This is not a political rally; this is a courtroom. I beseech you to control him. If you can’t, I will.”

Trump Gag Orders

After Trump attacked people involved in the case, on social media and to reporters outside the courtroom, Judge Engoron slapped him with a gag order. But the judge found that Trump broke it twice, and hit him with two fines totalling $15,000.

Trump Children Testimony

As well as Trump’s two adult sons, his daughter has also appeared in the Manhattan courtroom to give testimony — after she tried and failed to get out of the ordeal by saying she was busy in Florida with her three children.

Trump’s Other Legal Problems

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The New York trial is not the only legal headache Trump has, because he has also been indicted four times a total of 91 criminal charges. They include allegedly attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, alleged illegal mishandling of top-secret files and allegedly paying hush money so an affair wouldn’t be disclosed. Trump has denied all the charges and says they amount to a “witch hunt” by Democrats trying to stop him from becoming president again.

Trump 2024 Campaign

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Trump is campaigning to get back into the White House, after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. He’s the GOP frontrunner and almost assured of selection for the 2024 presidential race in primaries taking place in January.