Trump reverses course, won't testify in his defense in New York fraud trial

Former President Donald Trump was expected to take the witness stand Monday in New York to testify in his own defense against allegations that his family and his business engaged in fraud, but he reversed course Sunday, saying that he will not testify. 

Trump said in a Truth Social post that he won't take the stand again because he has already testified and has nothing more to say on the matter other than that the whole trial is an attempt at election interference.

Trump was expected to testify for the third time on Monday for his own legal team to question him before the roughly two-month trial concludes, according to The Hill.

"We've done nothing wrong," Trump said last week before he entered the courtroom for the trial.

Trump and his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are defendants in the lawsuit, and all of them testified at one point in the case brought by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James.

Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron sided with James in September before the trial even began when he determined that Trump and his company are liable for defrauding insurers and banks by overinflating assets, which allowed him to receive more favorable loan terms.  

The trial is focusing on James' request for $250 million in damages and an order barring Trump and his two eldest sons from leading businesses in New York state.

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