'Television scene': Conservative explains how Trump is using legal proceedings as 'a prop'

11 January 2024

On the same day former President Donald Trump appeared in court for closing arguments in his New York civil fraud case, a prominent conservative commentator asserted the ex-president being in court presents political benefits for both him and the prosecution.

While speaking on a panel hosted by CNN's Dana Bash, Jonah Goldberg — the former National Review editor who co-founded The Dispatch — said the politics of the New York trial have been apparent from the beginning. He noted that both Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing proceedings, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are both elected Democrats who are products of the Empire State's political "machine." And for Trump's part, Goldberg opined the former president was happy to use the Manhattan courtroom as a political stage days prior to the January 15 Iowa Republican Caucuses, particularly due to record cold temperatures set to hit the Hawkeye State this weekend.

"Trump has always had this view of the law going way back," Goldberg said. "Legal proceedings are a prop for a political narrative for him, have been when he was in office, before when he was a businessman, and now. And so like, he can't see it as any other way except as a television scene."

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Goldberg's comments came after the former president held an impromptu press conference outside of the courtroom during a short recess. During his remarks, he baselessly accused James of being the cause of oil company Exxon leaving New York for Texas in 1989, when James was a public defender fresh out of law school.

"It's a shame, she should be criminally liable for this. She did this to Exxon, and they drove Exxon out of New York," Trump said, as his attorney Alina Habba nodded silently next to him. "Exxon paid billions of dollars in taxes. They're now living in Texas. Exxon is very happy in Texas. Other companies, because of what's happening here, are gonna be moving out of New York also. This is an out-of-control attorney general."

James is seeking to recoup $370 million in alleged "ill-gotten gains" she said the Trump Organization made from artificially inflating the value of its real estate assets, and to ban the ex-president and his adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, from running New York-based businesses for five years. Because the trial is a "bench trial," Engoron will ultimately decide the verdict, rather than a jury.

After the conclusion of the civil fraud trial, Trump will go right back into court for a scheduled defamation trial on January 16 — the day after the Iowa Caucuses. Writer E. Jean Carroll accused the ex-president of defaming her when he suggested she fabricated her claims of sexual assault for financial reasons.

Watch the video of Goldberg's segment below, or by clicking this link.

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