Former President Donald Trump is celebrating what he said is a “very good ruling” from a New York appellate court on Thursday, which allowed Trump to hold off on obeying an order to dissolve his Empire State businesses until the courts can consider their status.
The Appellate Division, First Department’s rulings Thursday affirmed the pause, pending a review by a four-judge panel.
The appellate court, however, refused to halt Trump’s civil fraud trial, according to The Messenger.
Trump was appreciative of the rulings and even claimed, “I think the country appreciates it.”
The former president’s attorney, Christopher Kise added, “President Trump very much appreciates the court’s consideration and ruling today. The ruling helps pave the way for a much needed, and deliberative, review of the trial court’s many errors.”
“I think it’s a great thing for the country,” Trump agreed in comments made to the press, adding that the ruling was “very powerful.”
Trump speaks at his NYC trial: “New York State just gave us a very good ruling.” pic.twitter.com/kuhSBfOHuK
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 7, 2023
Trump has called the non-jury trial against him and his businesses a “weaponization of justice” and slammed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ actions as “election interference,” Fox News reported.
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Trump and his legal team also celebrated the testimony of a defense expert witness, New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who said he reviewed Trump’s financial information and found that Trump and his people did nothing wrong.
He also insisted that the overestimate of the value of the Trump Tower penthouse was just an error.
“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”
Kevin Wallace of the AG’s office blasted Bartov’s testimony and insisted it was “pure speculation from someone they hired to say what they want.”
Bartov fired back, telling Wallace, “You should be ashamed of yourself, talking to me like that. I’m here to tell the truth,” NBC News reported.
Trump called Bartov a “highly respected man.”
“I don’t know him, but he’s an expert witness and he found no fraud whatsoever. He found no accounting fraud whatsoever,” Trump told the media. “And like everyone else, he said, ‘What are we doing here?’ What are we doing here? This is a political witch hunt. This is meant to influence an election. This also comes from the White House. This is not just a state matter because the White House is controlling district attorneys.”
During a break in his N.Y. civil fraud trial, former President Donald Trump says the White House is controlling district attorneys and launching a political witch-hunt against him. pic.twitter.com/8Dq1tMBjmi
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 7, 2023
The former president also attacked the case and insisted that “This case should be over. This case should never have been brought.”
Trump called the case an attempt at election interference and added, “It’s a sad day for our country that a thing like this can take place.”
“I’m sitting in a courthouse instead of being in Iowa where I should be, even though I’m leading by about 40 points,” he said.
The ex-president also found favorable testimony from a Deutsche Bank AG executive, who confirmed in November what Trump has been saying since day one: that there were no victims and no one was harmed by any of the actions New York Attorney General James is claiming are crimes.
