New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman confronted former President Donald Trump after a hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, pressing him on the possibility of acquittal in the trial before Judge Juan Merchan.
Reporters gathered eagerly on Monday for Trump’s appearance in court, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case concerning hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels resulted in a substantial indictment against the former president.
While the hearing denied Trump’s attempts to delay the trial, there was a glimmer of relief for him as the appeals court granted an additional ten days to post a reduced amount of $175 million for his appeal against the staggering $460 million-plus fraud judgment.
Haberman, present for the proceedings and subsequent press conference, was the first to question Trump. She inquired about his prospects for acquittal in Judge Merchan’s courtroom, prompting a meandering response laden with falsehoods about the fraud case:
MAGGIE HABERMAN: Sir, do you think you can get a — can you get an acquittal in this trial? In the Merchan trial?
DONALD TRUMP: I shouldn’t have a trial. This is not a trial. This is not an act of criminality.
MAGGIE HABERMAN: But you are having one, so do you see —
DONALD TRUMP: I don’t know if we’re having one. We’re going to be appealing right now. I can tell you that.
We did nothing wrong. Just like I did nothing wrong in the other case.
My statements, my financial statements were conservative. They were low, not high. I mean, he valued Mar-A-Lago at a tiny fraction of what it is. He’s the fraud. He created a fraud in order to help his narrative and her narrative. Because he does whatever she wants. And the judges, really? What he’s done is fraudulent. He made Mar-A-Lago —
You know it very well, Maggie. He made Mar-A-Lago into $18 million. I had many offers. They said, I’ll give you 19. Okay? You could take the half of the living room is worth more than that. So it’s worth anywhere from 50 to 100 times that amount. And he stays with it.
So he’s either whacked out or dishonest, one or the other, or both.
Haberman’s familiarity with Trump’s legal battles, including the $18 million valuation issue, underscores her expertise, noting that Trump’s own real estate agent, not Judge Arthur Engoron, determined the valuation.
