Former president Donald Trump, who is on trial in New York for alleged fraud in his real estate empire, took the stand on Monday and, reportedly, refused to answer questions by the prosecutor and instead attacked New York’s Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the trial.
At one point he told Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, "I beseech you to control him. If you can't, I will.” After a further back and forth, Habba leapt up and insisted that they were “here to hear what [Trump] has to say.” Engoron told her, “Sit down!"
Alina Habba went after Engoron after Monday’s hearing. “Doesn't matter what your politics are,” she told the press. “Everyone has a right in this country to get up and put a defense. I don't care who you are. You have a right to hire a lawyer who can put objections on the record. You have a right to hire a lawyer who can stand up and say something when they see something wrong. But I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I've had a judge who is unhinged slamming a table. Let me be very clear. I don't tolerate that in my life. I'm not going to tolerate it here.”
