The Manhattan judge deciding Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial lost his cool on Wednesday – slamming his hand on the bench and snapping “This is ridiculous” – as the former president’s lawyers grilled his ex-accountant over inconsistent testimony.
The judge’s annoyed reaction came after Trump’s side claimed that Donald Bender — a partner at accounting firm Mazars USA — was evading their questions.
The attorneys had also repeatedly insisted they needed to meticulously go through Trump’s financial records with Bender “year-by-year.”
“Don’t waste time,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron sternly said.
Trump attorney Jesus Suarez had spent part of Tuesday afternoon and all of Wednesday morning cross-examining Bender — and said he would continue with the questioning through the end of the day.
“This is ridiculous!” Engoron said, hitting his hand on the bench.
“Mr. Bender isn’t on trial here,” Engoron reminded the lawyers, after Suarez’s aggressive questioning.
Another Trump attorney, Christopher Kise, said the only things Bender “seems to recall are what the government wants him to recall.”
“We need to be allowed to parse the evidence — we didn’t bring this case,” Kise argued.
Alina Habba, also a Trump lawyer, chimed in “We haven’t got one answer from him … he has no memory as we sit here.”
Kise conceded that they would try “to streamline” the cross-examination before the judge reiterated: “Let’s not waste time.”
Over the course of testimony on Wednesday — the third day of trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit — Engoron checked Trump’s legal team twice more, at one point suggesting they were pandering to the press and carrying out their defense as if a jury was present.
“There is no jury here,” Engoron said at one point during the questioning of Bender — reportedly prompting an exasperated response from Trump, 77, who threw his arms in the air while sitting with his attorneys at the defense table.
“Who are you talking to – me, the press or the audience?” the judge asked Kise at another point.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on former President Donald Trump’s fraud trial
Similarly, a lawyer for the AG’s office was shocked to hear that Bender would be questioned by Trump’s side for the rest of the day.
“There’s no jury. I don’t know who we’re performing for,” the attorney was heard saying.
The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner — who has elected to attend the trial since it kicked off in lower Manhattan on Monday — left for Florida after Wednesday’s lunch break, CNN reported.
Trump was slated to head straight to the airport to head back to Mar-a-Lago, a source told the outlet.
While it was not immediately clear if or when Trump would return to court — he has said he would testify should he be called to the witness stand.
In a civil trial, defendants are not required to attend as they would be in a criminal case.
Trump’s appearance at the 60 Centre Street courthouse prompted protesters to come out in force Monday morning — even blocking a street outside.
The former president has taken every opportunity in front of press and on social media to bash the case, the James, Engoron and even the judge’s clerk — the latter prompting Engoron to issue a limited gag order Tuesday afternoon.
Coming into court on Wednesday, the 45th president went on a three-minute rant ripping James for allegedly using the prosecution against him in her failed bid for governor in the Empire State.
“This is a railroading and it’s the beginning of communism in our country,” Trump said in the tirade.
He also didn’t rule out the possibility of becoming the next Speaker of the House after calls from some Republicans following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy Tuesday.
“A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” he said before walking into the courtroom.
Upon leaving, Trump rambled for several minutes again saying the case was “rigged.”
The defense filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday of Engoron’s bombshell ruling from last week siding with the AG on one of her main claims that Trump should be liable for fraud.
The decision also canceled Trump’s business licenses in the state.
The AG’s office argued in opening statements that Trump exaggerated his assets for years to get an edge on loans and insurance and also for his vanity’s sake so that he could climb Forbes’ list of billionaires.
Trump has subsequently been dropped from the list.
Trump’s lawyers argued that their client paid back all of the loans he took out for the Trump Organization and that the banks made millions off of his business.