N.Y. attorney ridicules 'waste of time' expert witness in Trump fraud trial
A New York State attorney ridiculed one of former President Donald Trump’s expert witnesses Monday as nothing more than a “waste of time,” ABC News reports.
Andrew Amer’s reported dismissal of insurance underwriting expert David Miller ties in with Attorney General Letitia James’ narrative that Trump’s defense is populated by golf buddies who can’t dispute the facts of the case.
According to ABC News, this message landed with Judge Arthur Engoron, who also criticized Miller after the witness detailed his professional experience.
"I don't see why you're an expert in what was just said," Engoron said.
According to The Messenger reporter Adam Klasfeld, Miller’s experience includes two decades as owner of David Miller Insurance Agency.
He will be paid $350 an hour for his testimony, Klasfeld notes.
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Miller was called in to testify that Zurich insurance company worked with the Trump Organization to protect a relationship with a broker, therefore suggesting inflated financial statements had little impact on the company’s dealings.
Those inflated financial statements are at the heart of James’ $250 million civil complaint, in which she contends the Trumps defrauded lenders and investors by inflating the value of company holdings. The judge has already found Trump and his associates liable for fraud, meaning the trial is largely to decide damages.
Trump, who denies wrongdoing, began mounting his defense earlier this month with a slew of experts called in to testify that Trump Organization practices were business as usual.
James, on the other hand, argues the experts are little more than golf course pals and members of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club doing a friend a favor.
“We heard testimony from their many expert witnesses, but they weren’t real experts,” James said Friday.
“We did learn something,” James said with a smile. “Several of these experts are longtime friends and golf buddies of Donald Trump.”