Trump Set to Testify Again Next Month in His Civil Fraud Trial

After a scorching first turn on the witness stand, former President Donald Trump plans to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial, his lawyers said Monday.

He is to return return Dec. 11 defense attorney Christopher Kise said.

Trump was called to testify last time by his adversaries in the lawsuit, the New York attorney general's office. This time, the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner's own lawyers will open the questioning and can ask about a wider range of subjects than they could on cross-examination.

Not that those limitations stopped Trump from lambasting the suit and defending himself and his business against Attorney General Letitia James' claims. Her lawsuit says he and his company misled lenders and insurers by giving them financial statements that greatly inflated his asset values and overall net worth.

“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements," Trump insisted on the stand last time. "This is the opposite of fraud. ... The fraud is her.”

Now finishing its second month, the trial is putting a spotlight on the real estate empire that vaulted Trump into public life and eventually politics. He maintains that James, a Democrat, is trying to damage his campaign.

At the heart of the case are Trump’s 2014 to 2021 annual “statements of financial condition,” which were used to help secure loans and other deals.

A Trump Organization executive testified Monday that the company no longer produces such statements.

The company continues to prepare various audits and other financial reports specific to some of its components, but “there is no roll-up financial statement of the company," said Mark Hawthorn, the chief operating officer of the Trump Organization’s hotel arm.

He wasn't asked why the comprehensive reports had ceased but said they are “not required by any lender, currently, or any constituency.”

Messages seeking comment on the matter were sent to spokespeople for the Trump Organization.