1 UNITED STATES
Trump claims finances in $250m trial are ‘worthless’
Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday and angrily claimed the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were “worthless” and the trial was a political “witch-hunt”. Trump maintained he had done nothing wrong and accused his prosecutors of playing politics.
The lawsuit was brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who is accusing the former president and several top Trump Organization executives – including his eldest sons – of fraudulently inflating the value of the former president’s properties to secure better loans from banks.
Trump sparred with the judge, Arthur Engoron, who threatened to have the former president removed from the court. He was quizzed about assets including Mar-a-Lago, his Trump Tower apartment and his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland – all of which have been overvalued in financial statements, according to the New York court.
Engoron ruled in September that Trump committed fraud for years as he expanded his real estate empire. Engoron is holding the trial to decide on what fine should be imposed.
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2 EUROPE
Storm Ciarán’s high winds and floods lead to 16 deaths
At least seven people died in severe flooding in Tuscany, central Italy, and three in Portugal, bringing to 16 the provisional death toll across western Europe from the torrential rain and record winds brought by Storm
