Donald Trump did not testify Monday in his New York civil fraud trial as expected. The former president took the stand in November and earlier said he would testify again, but he posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday saying he would no longer take the stand.
“I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say,” Trump's post said in part.
Currently leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump reiterated his unfounded assertions that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. In his post, he specifically targeted President Joe Biden’s campaign, accusing them of “election interference,” and labeled the charges against him as a “witch hunt.”
Trump, his two sons and their business are facing a $250 million fine for inflating their net worth by billions and misleading lenders and insurance companies.
“Trump frequently lambasted New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the trial and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the suit against him,” according to Axios. “Just before the civil trial started, Engoron found that Trump had committed fraud by exaggerating his net worth on financial records.”
In response to Trump’s refusal to testify Monday, James said in a statement on X, “We have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself. No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don’t lie.”
Last Thursday, Trump “watched from the defense table as an accounting expert, New York University professor Eli Bartov, blasted the state’s case and said Trump’s financial statements ‘were not materially misstated,’” per The Associated Press.
This week is anticipated to be the last for witness testimonies. Once the testimonies wrap up, the trial is set to pause until early January.
Engoron will make a final decision in the case following the break and closing arguments.
Supreme Court asked to weigh in on presidential immunity
On Monday, special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to review and decide if former President Trump is shielded by presidential immunity from facing charges in the federal case regarding 2020 election interference.
“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin,” prosecutors wrote Monday, per The New York Times.
In his filing on Monday, Smith aimed to bypass an appeals court that was initially called to oversee the case. A federal judge previously decided the prosecution could proceed despite Trump’s legal team promising to challenge this ruling.
“In October, Trump’s legal team filed its first motion to dismiss the case, citing what Trump’s lawyers claim is his ‘absolute immunity’ from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation’s highest office,” per ABC News. “The judge overseeing the case, D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, rejected the motion.”
The trial is set to begin in early March.
Should the Supreme Court agree to hear the case, it would mark the first instance of the Supreme Court intervening in part of the legal processes related to Trump, Axios noted.