According to a report from The New York Times, New York Attorney General Letitia James and her team of lawyers appeared to be frustrated with Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony in his civil business fraud trial. Kate Christobek, who was reporting from the courthouse, noted that the attorneys had shown signs of frustration during the trial, including cradling their heads in their hands or sitting back with their arms crossed.
During the trial, Judge Engoron overruled objections from the attorney general’s office regarding testimony about the history of the Trump Organization. Politico reporter Erica Orden tweeted that Engoron said, “Objection’s overruled, let him go ahead and talk about how great the Trump Organization is.” James herself walked out in the middle of Trump Jr.’s testimony, which is a rare occurrence according to Jonah Bromwich of The Times.
Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman commented on the frustration from the attorney general’s lawyers, stating that they were unhappy with Engoron allowing Trump Jr. to give self-serving and irrelevant testimonies. However, Litman acknowledged that Engoron did not want to create any issues and saw no harm in allowing Trump Jr. to continue speaking. Litman also noted that the testimony proceedings were unusual because it resembled a direct sales pitch to a jury, but he believed that Trump’s team had already lost their case with Engoron and that it would not help them on appeal.
Overall, the frustration from the attorney general’s lawyers and the judge’s handling of the trial have led to an unconventional and tense atmosphere in the courtroom.
