NEWS'Donald Trump Is Toast': Watergate Prosecutor Believes Ex-President Will Go Down in New York Civil Fraud Trial
Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor, told outlets on Wednesday, November 8, that former President Donald Trump was an idiot for testifying in the New York civil fraud trial after pleading the fifth.
Donald Trump originally pleaded the fifth, so not to incriminate himself.
Akerman, who was an assistant special prosecutor on the 1970s team that investigated President Richard Nixon and those involved in the break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at Watergate, said, "Basically at this point, Donald Trump is toast."
“I mean he is basically going to be found to be a liar by the judge," he added.
Donald Trump currently faces 91 criminal charges.
Trump testified on Monday, November 6, to defend himself in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the Trump Organization.
Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled that the former president and his family's empire committed fraud. The ongoing trial is just to determine their financial liability. The AG is seeking $250 million as well as prohibiting the Trumps from operating any of their businesses in New York.
During his initial deposition in the case, the businessman turned GOP leader invoked the Fifth Amendment over 400 times. This excluded him from having to take the stand to testify in court, however, he decided to take the bench and give his two cents on the case in the courtroom.
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A Watergate prosecutor said, 'I mean he is basically going to be found to be a liar by the judge.'
"You’ve got contradictory testimony. You can use his assertion of the Fifth Amendment against him. To basically find that he’s lying," Akerman explained. "I just don’t see how this judge, at the end of the day, is not gonna find with respect to Donald Trump ‘liar, liar, pants on fire.'"
The Watergate prosecutor added that in the "40 years" he had been practicing civil law, he had “never seen somebody do such a stupid move as to suddenly start testifying after you’ve taken the fifth."
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As of Wednesday, after Ivanka Trump provided her testimony in court, the prosecution rested their case, turning it over to Trump's team to begin their defense.
The AG and her office accused the former president and the Trump Organization of fraudulently inflating the New York businessman's fortune by as much as $2.2 billion since 2011, as well as overvaluing many of their properties in New York and Florida, including Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.
The prosecution is looking to have the Trumps fined $250 million and banned from doing business in New York.
This isn't the only legal issue the ex-prez is facing. He is currently charged with 91 counts across four separate indictments in D.C., New York, Georgia and Florida. He could face up to 300 years behind bars if he's found guilty of every charge.
