Terrible day for the Trumps on the stand

Real life trial testimony, particularly in a trial about something like financial fraud, doesn’t tend to involve the theatrics we see on TV and in the movies. Instead it generally consists of the prosecutor trying to methodically corner the defendant, and take away the defendant’s ability to offer an innocent explanation for the alleged fraud. After all, if you can’t (or refuse to) properly defend yourself in a civil case, you lose.

So even as the Trumps take the stand this week and next week in the New York civil fraud trial, it’s important to remember that it’s not about theatrics. It’s about specific matters of fact. For instance, the Trumps seem to want to be arguing that they knew very little about the accounting practices and financial methodology of their own Trump Organization, and that all the fraud must be someone else in the company’s fault. Accordingly, prosecutors are seeking to use the Trumps’ time on the stand to prove otherwise.

During Eric Trump’s testimony today, prosecutors showed that he’d signed numerous inaccurate financial statements for the corporation, leading legal expert Harry Litman to conclude that he’d gotten “beat up badly” on the stand. Eric Trump’s aunt Mary Trump concluded that Eric “lost the entire case” with his testimony.

Of course the Trumps have already lost this case, officially, thanks to the judge’s summary ruling before the trial even began. The trial is mainly being held to determine the size of the damages. Given how poorly the Trumps’ testimony has gone thus far, and how it’s likely to go even worse once senile miscreant Donald Trump takes the stand, those damages could end up being the whole enchilada.