welcome to a special edition of "cnn news central." i'm brianna keilar with boris sanchez. we are tracking donald trump's historic and chaotic testimony in his new york civil fraud trial. right now the former president testifying in his own defense in the face of a massive broad case. he's been under oath for more than three hours today, and he's spent much of that time railing against the judge. >> and that is remarkable, because the fate of trump's company is in that judge's hands. there's no jury in this case. and judge arthur engoron already found trump liable for fraud so this determines the penalties, what the fraud will cost trump. that could mean the judge will strip the trump organization of its certificate. let's take you live outside the courthouse with cnn's paula reid. what is the latest coming out of the courtroom? >> reporter: in past few moments the assistant attorney general questioning trump has focused on questions about his net worth. at the heart of this case is an accusation that trump lied about his net worth to get more favorable terms on loans for certain properties, as well as also allegedly lying to insurance companies to get more favorable terms. so these questions focused on his net worth are significant, and he has testified that he was worth about $2.5 billion. he's also suggested his net worth could be more than that. but the attorney general is accusing him of actually having a net worth that is much less than what he disclosed in these loan applications. he also talked about how much cash he had on hand. for one loan, he said he had $50 million, boasting that he had quite a bit of cash at that time. he suggested that his net worth was exactly what it needed to be. he's emphasized with some loans that they were paid back, there was no victim. he said on the stand a short time ago, the reason he is in court right now is because of, quote, politics. the past hour or so has been much more focused, much more productive for the attorney general's office than the earlier part of the day, which was quite chaotic, as the judge continued to interrupt trump, insisting that he give yes or no answers, admonishing him for what the judge described as speeches and essays, which then set off disagreements between trump's lawyers and the attorney general's office. after a short break, the judge took a different approach to today's testimony. he's no longer interrupting trump, letting him talk. sometimes his lawyers might feel at his own peril. things are moving along and they're going down the list of properties at the heart of this case. >> what are the considerations here for an appeal, and, paula, does that have anything to do with how trump is acting in court? >> reporter: well, it does appear that there is a strategy to help them on what appears to be an inevitable appeal. the trump lawyers have suggested they will appeal the outcome of this. the judge has already found trump and his codefendants liable for fraud. they're focused now mostly on the penalties, what he will incur for this alleged fraud. they've said they're going to appeal this. but what you saw today was likely the former president trying to really get the judge to interrupt him enough to then try to argue that he didn't get a chance to testify fully, he didn't get a chance to answer the questions accurately. it did appear, especially in the morning half of today's proceeding, that he was trying to bait the judge, and it did appear it was working for the first part of the morning, where the judge continued to interrupt him, even threatened to kick him out of court and say he would draw the most negative inference possible, which means he would conclude that the testimony went as poorly as it possibly could for trump. remember, there's no jury here today. it is just the judge overseeing this phase. we expect whatever happens here will ultimately be appealed, and the former president has been answering more questions this afternoon, but he has also taken shots at the attorney general who is sitting in court, as well as the judge overseeing his testimony. >> quite the day in court, paula. thank you for that report. i want to break this down with our expert panel. what do you think, gloria, about what you've seen play out so far? >> i think what we've seen play out today is really much more of a political strategy than a legal strategy. what trump is saying outside the courtroom, he's saying inside the courtroom. he's saying that he's a victim here, that this is a witch hunt, that the judge really effectively didn't know him and was trying to embarrass him, and said, look, there's no victims to this. so why is there a crime? the banks all got their money. what's the problem here? and so we've seen a lot of drama, if the lawyers were trying to tell trump to shut up, they failed. but they probably weren't at this point, because he's going to do what he's going to do. they're going to appeal. they're trying to egg on the judge, and they've succeeded at some point. so what we're seeing is i think what we expected to see. the only problem here, the interesting difference here, is that both of the sons were saying we didn't have anything to do with this stuff, we didn't know about this stuff. we just signed these papers, that's what accountants are for. and trump, who of course took this more personally because it's so definitional for him, it's who he is, said, yeah, i made suggestions, and i knew things. and everything i did was right. so there's a big difference between the way his sons were talking and the way donald trump is talking, because he says he ran a successful business and he's being persecuted. >> to gloria's point about this being a largely political exercise for the trump team, trump's team has told cnn they feel good about the way things have gone. they're fundraising off of some of the statements made by the judge in this case. >> also, very trump-ian things to say. they always feel good about everything, everything is always perfect and going well for trump and team trump. and even in this testimony, he is saying, i am the smartest person about real estate these forms were absolute perfect. if you think about the impeachment, it was a perfect phone call. that's trump's strategy, and his biggest, most ardent fans believe him. they believe it's a witch hunt. i think it would be more effective politically if this was televised, the fact that all we are getting at this point are not really flattering artist renditions of donald trump, it means that it's not as effective because it's not televised. but for what trump wants to do, i think it is effective. >> but certainly, like you said, the people who are very supportive of him are going to love this. the question is, what about those other folks that he will need to win over? not just those in his base. listen, it is early. i know there are all sorts of polls out at this point and it has democrats sort of winning the bid. >> laura, what stood out to you about trump's testimony, other than the bluster? >> the bluster seemed to be had is defense. he is looking at this politically when legally speaking, he has to realize the questions he's answering do not go to what is left to be decided. remember, there was already a summary judgment motion, the fancy way of saying i've already told you how i feel about this issue, and the judge has said you have fraudulent documents, all that's left is how expensive it's going to be, a quarter of a billion dollars, will you have a conservator over your empire and businesses. the trial that donald trump thinks he's in is whether he lied, the value of his assets. that's already been decided. why that's important to him is what you're talking about. for donald trump, his business acumen and his empire is his political currency and he's trying very hard to thread a needle that he believes is a wide open eye, when in reality it's much more narrow for this judge. >> laura, i wanted to ask you something that just came down through the wires. we have folks in the courtroom right now passing along slips of paper and funneling every bit of information that they can to our teams on the ground. apparently, he was asked by the attorney general, kevin wallace, whether he maintained accurate records going back to 2014, and donald trump on the stand said, i hope so. i didn't keep them myself. i hope so. >> number one, the whole, are you kidding me moment. the reality is, number one, he is an officer of a company. there are certain duties that you have to have as a part of a corporation, including you have to be responsible and know what you're handing over and representing. there's a duty involved for donald trump jr., for eric trump as well as an officer of the company. you can't have reckless disregard for what's out there. not if these are material facts. you want someone to rely on to give you loans. on the other hand, it sounds like he's moving a little closer to, it wasn't me, and i have delegated this role to somebody else, which earlier in the day he had quite a catch-22. on the one hand, i was saying i'm in control, i'm the head hon c honcho. that doesn't help you over whether you had control over fraudulent documents. to his sons, eric trump and don jr. have said in earlier testimony -- remember that moment on the courthouse steps when don jr. said wait for it, accounting, now he's a little more in that territory. i wonder what happened during the lunch. was it a lawyer saying to him, you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. >> well, apparently there is a lot going on, and if this were a televised situation there in the courtroom, a televised trial, we would have cauut away to go to . paula, what's been going on? tell us. >> reporter: i'm getting second-by-second updates from our colleagues inside the court, and after answering a series of very technical questions, trump is now playing what they describe as a series of classic attacks on the attorney general and the judge overseeing this case. now, the assistant attorney general pleaded with trump, saying, we're very close to the end of this questioning, but instead trump attacked the state of new york saying businesses are leaving because of cases like this. he also attacked a crime occurring in the city and called the case election interference. this has been a common refrain from the former president, insisting that he is a political martyr here, that this is part of some sort of effort to interfere in the election, even though, of course, this investigation and this case have been sort of in the pipeline since 2019. now, it's possible this testimony could be wrapping up. we hear from our colleagues in the courtroom that trump went on a lengthy monologue attacking the s the judge and the attorney general. the attorney doing the questioning pleaded with him saying, i promise, mr. trump, i'm trying to get you off the stand. trump shot back, great, i'm sure you are. trump then complained about the hostile judge and, once again, complained that there's not a jury overseeing this case. then the judge, who was very active early on today, but has been quieter after they took a break and after lunch, said that he feels like a broken record. he, again, asked the former president to focus on the questions, and trump complained that the attorney general's office kept asking him, quote, the same questions. he doesn't understand it, the subject matter of the case is what trump is alleging, about the assistant attorney general, because he keeps asking me the same questions. now, it appears that they've gotten trump back on track, trying to get to the heart of this case, which are questions about how he estimated his net worth when applying for loans. but that was a moment where, once again -- i mean, this hearing just went off the rails. we saw this earlier this morning. but here trump taking this opportunity on the witness stand to attack the judge overseeing the case and the attorney general, who has brought this case. this is highly unusual for any witness on the stand. of course it's an extraordinary hearing. but this is not how witnesses usually conduct themselves. >> no, it's extraordinary to say the least. paula, thank you so much for the update. it sounds like he's falling apart there in the courtroom, gloria. >> well, i think it's the same old, same old. as the judge was saying, it's a broken record. donald trump is not willing to concede that he did anything wrong, even though the judge has already said that the trump organization did do something wrong. and so he's combative with anyone, with the prosecution, with the judge, and there's no way you're going to get him to stop being combative. there just isn't any way. and what donald trump will do politically is to say, look at what they're doing to me. they can do this to you. this is the deep state run wild. and i'm a victim here. i didn't victimize anybody, the banks didn't lose any money. so are they complaining to you? no. i'm the victim here, and new york state is saying, no, you're not the victim, because you provided fraudulent information. so, look, this isn't going to change. and in a way, maybe his lawyers are just giving up. you're the attorney here. maybe his lawyers are saying, this is okay because we're goading the judge and trying to get under his skin. >> perhaps he believes it's a foregone conclusion of liability. but what his behavior does is create a self-fulfilling prophecy instead. there's still an opportunity in front of this judge who did not rule to say everything has been resolved. there are still at least six other counts of fraud, including aspects about liability. there's still a chance. he is not looking at those moments for a variety of reasons, i suspect. but what i hear, especially the idea of a victimless crime, so to speak. first of all, any time you see a case caption for a state-led prosecution or a federal one, it says, united states or new york versus, it's on behalf of society, not an individual litigant. the reason for that is because they want people who are similarly situated to be treated appropriately and similarly. in an instance like this, if you or i or any of us go out and try to use fraudulent documents to secure a loan or depreciate so we have less stacks liability, that means i'm getting more of a benefit of a pseudo bargain. so maybe his creditors are repaid but the average new yorker did not have the ability to have tax documents that were forgiven, lessened. his issue is about the discretion of the prosecutor. unfortunately, in our society, there's a lot of critique surrounding those who are elected as prosecutors. i was not elected, i was a prosecutor for the federal government. but if you are running for office, you're going to actually target in your campaign certain people. she did just that, giving a lot of ammunition for these claims. it does not mean, however, that because she campaigned about trump that it undermines the actual accuracy of the evidence. he has not proven otherwise. >> still, if we were in a normal era, you could say with any other plaintiff, this would have likely sunk a political candidate. instead, donald trump is leading the republican primary by head and shoulders. >> that's right. you would have thought that inciting an insurrection, inciting people to violence, to overthrow a free and fair election would have sunk a normal candidate. that didn't happen. people are emotionally attached to donald trump. he's running as a quasi-incumbent in a republican party, the leadership basically fell down before his feet and let him have his way with the republican party, because he has such a strong hold on the base. some of it is cultural, some of it is class, some of it has to do with race. in so many ways, this case fits into that. it sort of benefits donald trump that the attorney general there is a black woman, right, and that it comes from new york, which is the sort of urban landscape that goes against donald trump. this is what he tells his supporters. so it very much feeds into their sense of grievance politics, that somehow they are being targeted and their champion in donald trump is also being targeted. >> we've learned that donald trump has just been excused from the witness stand. you're seeing a live picture from outside the courtroom. we're going to wait for him to emerge, potentially make some comments. laura, obviously as we await trump's comments, he has a gag order against him in another case, he's been already punished for saying outlandish things in this case. do you anticipate that perhaps what he said on the stand today, what he may say now could be used against him? >> i would assume and encourage that any prosecutor is watching, would be leaning in to figure out whether or not what has been stated implicates their own case. that would be a prudent prosecutorial strategy. there are many other cases happening right now across the country. one of the reasons you want to have him on a short leash is not just because of the gag order, although that's a very important one. but his attorneys want him on a short leash because other attorneys in other cases do not want him opening a door wide open that he is going off on tangents that might talk about how he spends his money, how he spends in campaigns. alvin bragg has an active investigation criminally and also an active lawsuit involving what happened with the, quote, unquote, hush money payments. you don't want him going off the rails and talking about why he thinks it's a political witch hunt and then going into detail about who or what he advised during january 6th or before, because there's active litigation against that as well. who he may have entrusted documents to to show that there was a chain of command for anything that was sensitive information, because it implicates mar-a-lago. every different aspect of these different cases are going to be a part of this. so he has to be very cautious about it. and he doesn't want to risk cutting off his nose to spite his face. >> we are watching this room where donald trump is inside. they're taking care, as we understand it, of some housekeeping business right now. he, as of a few moments ago, still is sitting there at the defense table. so we're going to take a quick break as we wait to see what happens as he comes out. but he is off the stand, this is the end of some extraordinary ho hours-long testimony there in new york. we'll be right back with more. we're anticipating to hear any moment from several key figures in donald trump's civil fraud trial, including the former president himself and attorney general letitia james. >> former president donald trump just wrapped up his testimony, hours long, chaotic i think is the word we would describe this as. i want to bring in cnn's kaitlan collins outside of the courthouse. what are we expecting, kaitlan? >> we are expecting to hear from the attorney general herself, letitia james, who has been seated in the front row of that courtroom for the last several hours, listening to this testimony, at times laughing at some of the answers that trump had that were directed toward her, saying that she didn't know where one of the properties he was being questioned about was located here in new york. obviously she's the attorney general for new york. she is about to come down the steps and it's notable to hear what she is going to say. i can see her staffing line up at the microphones. they have indicated she will be coming over to speak to reporters once she's outside of the courthouse. she spoke briefly on her way in and predicted what the former president was going to say before he walked into the courtroom, including an attack on her. he called her a racist attorney general, something he has said repeatedly on social media. she noted that was likely to come. it will be interesting to see wha