Trump attacks judge and admits he played a role in the valuation of his empire’s properties

He was combative and brash, unrepentant and verbose – regardless of the courtroom setting, he was the quintessential Donald J. Trump.

Within minutes of Trump taking the witness stand Monday, his civil fraud trial in Manhattan degenerated into a chaotic spectacle before a packed room. The former president lashed out at his accusers and denied their claims, even as he admitted involvement in some of the conduct at the heart of the case.

As the courtroom shook with tension, Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James as a “political hack.” He described the procedure as ‘a very unfair process’. And he scolded the judge overseeing the case, Arthur F. Engoron, for deciding before the trial that he had committed fraud.

“He called me a fraud, and he knows nothing about me!” Mr. Trump exclaimed from the stands, pointing to the judge, who grinned.

The outbursts reveal the former president’s disdain for a cause that has already jeopardized his family business and branded him a swindler and cheat. Ms James, who has become one of Trump’s archenemies, has not only taken his company to court but also called into question the richer-than-rich persona he has built over his years as a businessman and reality TV star – the identity that propelled his run for the White House.

Mr. Trump, who was accused by Ms. James of inflating his wealth to defraud banks and insurers, acknowledged that he had helped compile the annual financial statements submitted to the banks.

“I would look at them, I would see them, and maybe every now and then I would have some suggestions,” said Mr. Trump, who began the day looking tired but soon became animated.

While the admission appeared to strengthen the attorney general’s case, Mr. Trump, who sat 30 feet away from Ms. James, also tried to minimize the significance of the financial statements, which he said he left largely to aides. He noted that they contained numerous disclaimers, making them essentially “worthless.” The banks paid little attention, he said, before promising unsolicited that some of his bankers would soon testify in his defense.

Mr. Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president, brought combative campaign energy to the courtroom, punctuating his testimony with grandiose claims and long-winded asides that infuriated the judge and obscured some of his more effective testimony.

He paid a passionate tribute to his golf course near Aberdeen, Scotland, calling it an “artistic expression” and the largest ever built. He attacked Judge Engoron: “The fraud lies with the court, not with me.”

The judge, who will determine the outcome of the case instead of a jury, repeatedly admonished Trump for not responding directly to questions from Ms. James’ team.

‘You can attack me. You can do whatever you want,” Judge Engoron told him, “but answer the question.”

When the judge turned to Mr. Trump with a simple request — “no speeches please” — his words elicited a grin from the former president, who continued to ramble. At one point, Mr. Trump interrupted Kevin Wallace, a state attorney who was questioning him, with an “Excuse me, sir,” so he could think about what he would have done if he had, in fact, wanted to inflate the value of his assets .

“My net worth was way bigger than the financial statements,” Mr. Trump scolded Mr. Wallace, later telling him he should be “ashamed.”

“People like you are trying to humiliate and hurt me,” Trump told Wallace.

The testimony pushed Trump far beyond his campaign comfort zone into the controlled environment of a courtroom, where lying is a crime and outbursts can land you in contempt of court. The deeply personal nature of the trial of the 77-year-old Trump, whose obsession with his wealth is a defining characteristic of his celebrity, injected an extra dose of emotion into his testimony.

Mr. Trump is fighting Ms. James’ civil case as he faces four criminal charges that implicate him in everything from a hush-money deal with a porn star to an attempt to undermine American democracy. While things have been a distraction during his third White House run, Trump’s lead has only widened. He has portrayed himself as a political martyr under attack by Democrats like Mrs. James and Judge Engoron.

Speaking to reporters after the testimony, Ms. James said that Mr. Trump had “rambled” and “hurled insults” but that “evidence showed that he had, in fact, falsely inflated his assets to essentially enrich himself and his family.”

Christopher M. Kise, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, had a different view: “In my 33 years, I have not had a witness testify better,” he said.

Even before Ms. James’ case went to trial, Judge Engoron had ruled that Mr. Trump’s financial statements were riddled with fraud.

The trial will determine the punishment. Ms. James wants Trump to pay a $250 million fine, be kicked out of his company and permanently banned from the New York real estate industry.

On Monday, as Mr. Wallace questioned Mr. Trump, the former president turned to the judge and complained about the way he had accepted Ms. James’ central claim before any evidence was heard in court: “You believed this political hack at the time, and that’s unfortunate.”

“Finished?” Mr. Wallace asked, like a parent asking a child if he’s done with his tantrum.

“Done,” Mr. Trump replied, and the questioning continued.

Throughout the roughly four hours of testimony, Mr. Trump alternately accepted and avoided responsibility. When Mr. Wallace asked how he ensured the financial statements were handled properly, he passed the responsibility to financial lieutenants and outside auditors, saying, “I gave two people full authority to work for a very expensive accounting firm .”

However, Mr. Trump added that he was not entirely aloof: “I said, ‘Get the statements ready so the accounting firm is happy.’”

Often, Mr. Wallace pressed Mr. Trump with simple questions about whether he had relied on the banks to rely on his financial statements. Mr. Trump confirmed that, without seeming to realize the intent of the question, he had a necessary element that Ms. James’ lawyers could show.

He also couldn’t resist exaggerating in the very ways that have made him vulnerable to the attorney general’s claims. When asked how big his triplex is in Trump Tower, he initially gave the correct answer: 11,000 square feet. Apparently unable to stop himself, he then said 12,000. Then he said 13,000.

Mr. Trump also said he told his employees to lower the value of his Westchester County, N.Y., estate, Seven Springs, because he “felt it was too high,” another acknowledgment of his involvement in the financial statements.

While that seemed to undermine Trump’s job on the stand — to distance himself from the appreciation of his assets — parts of his testimony may have helped him.

Mr. Trump gave something of a tutorial on real estate valuation, noting that lower cash flow in a given year might not depress the overall value of his flagship office in the Financial District. And he pointed out that the banks he is accused of actually made money, arguing that they were hardly victims.

He also spoke about moments of restraint.

When asked whether he approved the appraisal of an office building, Mr. Trump said he accepted it, not that he approved it, and that he did not order anyone to change it. When asked if it was based on true and accurate information, the former president replied: “I hope so.”

Mr. Trump testified that he had opinions about the value of his assets, especially his estate in Florida. “I thought Mar-a-Lago was very underrated, but I didn’t do anything about it,” he said. “I just left it like that.”

But his lengthy answers irritated the judge. As Trump spoke fondly of Mar-a-Lago, calling it “beautiful” and a “success,” Judge Engoron looked up at the ceiling. The more Trump spoke, the more Judge Engoron rolled his eyes.

After Trump blurted that Aberdeen was the oil capital of Europe, Judge Engoron barked: “Irrelevant, irrelevant. Answer the question.”

In a criminal case, a jury or judge cannot hold a suspect’s refusal to answer questions against him. But this case is a civil case and the rules are different: A judge can make what’s called an “adverse inference” – a damning assumption about why a suspect won’t answer.

At one point Monday, the judge, fed up with Mr. Trump’s unresponsiveness, threatened to excuse the former president from the stand and assume the worst about why he wouldn’t respond.

Judge Engoron also repeatedly called on Trump’s lawyer, Mr. Kise, to rein in the former president. As Mr. Trump pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders, Mr. Kise responded that Mr. Trump’s status — as the “former and soon-to-be-reemerged top executive of the United States” — gave him wiggle room.

“Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political meeting,” Judge Engoron said in the opening moments of the testimony, adding: “We will stay here forever and we will not achieve anything.”

By the time Mr. Trump rose to leave the stand at the end of the day, the judge seemed relieved. He turned to the former president and extended his left hand in farewell.

Kate Christobek, Maggie Haberman, Nate Schweber, Liset Cruz And Susanne Craig reporting contributed.