Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354M, says frauds 'shock the conscience'

The courtroom has broken for lunch before Trump's testimony resumes for the afternoon session.

Trump testified in the morning session that he tasked then-Trump Organization executives Jeffrey McConney and Allen Weisselberg to work with a "very highly paid accounting firm" to handle his annual statements of financial condition, distancing himself from the preparation of the statements that are at the center of the New York attorney general's case.

"All I did was authorize for people to give what was necessary so they could do the statement," Trump said.

Asked about the valuation of his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, which was assessed at a dramatically lower value than Trump claimed because a deed restriction prevented it from being used as anything but a social club, Trump defended his valuation, saying, "We have the right to change it back to a house."

The former president also continued to tout his financial statements' so-called "worthless" clause which he said ensured that banks did not take the statement at face value.

"We have a disclaimer that says, 'Do your own due diligence. Don't under any circumstances count on anything here,'" Trump said in court, at one point waving a piece of paper in the air about the clause that he said vindicated him.

"I would love to read that if I could, your honor?" Trump asked Judge Engoron.

"No," Engoron said, shooting down the request.

"No shock," Trump quipped.

After tamping down on Trump at the start of the day, Judge Engoron has largely been granting him space to engage in the kind of provocative language he often uses on social media.

But at one point, when Trump pulled out a piece of paper about a disclaimer and said it vindicates him, Engoron stepped in.

The former president argued in his deposition earlier this year, and has repeatedly said on social media, that a so-called "worthless" disclaimer included in his statements of financial condition -- which warns lenders that the valuations in the document require judgment and that they should do their own analysis -- insulates him from liability.

Engoron, an a partial summary judgment issued before the start of the trial, ruled otherwise.

"No, no, no, we are not going to hear about the disclaimer clause," Engoron responded when Trump pulled out the paper.

After a cordial question-and-answer interlude seemed to cool down the temperature in courtroom, the former president has grown increasingly animated as he levels complaints against the judge and the New York attorney general, whom he called "a political hack."

When state attorney Kevin Wallace asked Trump if he disagreed with the attorney general's assessment of the value of some of the Trump Organization's properties, Trump fired back.

"I think it's fraudulent," Trump said. "The fraud is on the court, not on me."

Looking at Wallace but motioning toward Judge Engoron, Trump said of the judge, "You ruled against me before you knew anything about me ... he called me a fraud and he didn't know anything about me."

Referring to New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump said: "It's a political witch hunt and I think she should be ashamed of herself."

Wallace has largely ignored Trump's asides, instead moving on to the next question. After a particularly agitated exclamation, Wallace asked Trump, "You done?"

"Yes," Trump replied.

Despite addressing two overvaluations on his statement of financial condition, Trump has repeatedly tried to stymie the state attorney's yes-or-no line of questioning regarding his financial statement, underscoring his legal team's defense that real estate valuations are an art, not a science.

Earlier, in response to a question about the compilation of his financial records in 2021, Trump invoke his work in the White House to demonstrate that he was too preoccupied with the nation's business to engage in his own.

"I was so busy in the White House," Trump said. "My threshold was China, Russia and keeping our country safe."

"Just for the record," state attorney Kevin Wallace replied, "you weren't president in 2021?"

"No, I wasn't," Trump acknowledged.