Closing argument recap: Donald Trump tells court his NY fraud trial is 'election interference'
NEW YORK — Donald Trump closed out his high-stakes real estate fraud trial in New York in a decidedly Trumpian way: with an unscheduled and dramatic rant about how he is a victim.
''The person in the room right now hates Trump," the former president, facing a $370 million penalty and a ban on operating his business in New York, told Justice Arthur Engoron, on the day of closing arguments in his real estate fraud lawsuit. He was referring to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has spearheaded the high-profile case against his business, the Trump Organization. ''This is partially election interference.''
"Control your client," Engoron told the 2024 Republican frontrunner's lawyer.
The Trump comments highlighted a day of courtroom back-and-forth among lawyers that began with a bomb scare directed at the judge's home, prompting beefed up security.
James wants Trump on the hook for nearly all of the proposed $370 million, although his two adult sons, two former business executives, and several entities also face potential liability. If James gets everything she's asked for, Trump will face a lifetime ban on running a New York business or participating in the New York real estate industry.
More: Judge shoots down Trump's mistrial request in New York fraud case, calling claims 'nonsensical'
Engoron ruled in September that the former president had fraudulently inflated his financial statements and will lose his New York business certificates — a decision Trump called the "corporate death penalty." An appeals court has put the business certificates order on hold.
The judge, a frequent Trump target, received a bomb threat at his Long Island home early Thursday, a case of apparent "swatting," but authorities found nothing amiss at the scene. Extra security was visible around the courthouse. Trump didn't comment on the bomb threat as he spoke with reporters before entering the courtroom Thursday morning.
Related: Trump faces final shot in civil fraud trial to protect $370 million and NY business empire
The months-long trial has focused on whether Trump and his co-defendants engaged in other fraudulent acts that weren't addressed in Engoron's September ruling, including insurance fraud, and how much they could be ordered to pay at the end of the case.
Trump and three of his children — Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka — all testified under state subpoenas, and Don Jr. also testified for the defense. Trump's former lawyer and current adversary Michael Cohen also took the stand, testifying that Trump tasked him with boosting assets "based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected."
'The most critical facts are undisputed': New York AG lawyer
The frenzied atmosphere in the courtroom receded as closing remarks shifted from former President Trump to the New York Attorney General's Office after a lunch break.
"The most critical facts are undisputed," Kevin Wallace, the attorney general's senior enforcement counsel, told the judge.
Wallace pointed to specific examples of facts he said were settled , including the square footage of certain property, whether property was rent stabilized ? and ultimately that every Trump financial statement from 2011 to 2021 had been proven false.
The trial was about intent, Wallace said, and it showed deliberate fraud by Trump and his co-defendants.
"Each individual defendant was acting knowingly and intentionally," he said.-Aysha Bagchi
Trump speaks in courtroom surprise: 'You have your own agenda,' he tells judge
After signaling that former President Donald Trump would not be allowed to address the court after his attorney failed to agree to the judge's conditions, Justuce Arthur Engoron switched gears and allowed the 2024 Republican frontrunner to make remarks at the end of the defense's closing arguments.
Trump delivered a speedy stream of complaint over the case and what he called the political agenda behind it.
"The banks are happy as can be," Trump said of New York Attorney General Letitia James' allegations he inflated the value of his assets to get better terms on loans. "There wasn't one witness against us."
Trump called the lawsuit a "political witch hunt."
"We should receive damages," he added.
"This is partially election interference, but in particular the person in the room right now hates Trump," he said, referring to James.
Trump also targeted the judge. "You have your own agenda," he said. "I certainly understand that."
Engoron then stepped in, advising Trump lawyer Chris Kise to "please control your client."
As Trump continued speaking Engoron remarked on Trump's assertion that he had never had legal trouble with his businesses. "Haven't you been sued before?" Engoron asked.
Soon after, Trump again turned his ire on the attorney general. "She sued me to try and get publicity to run for office," he said.
-Aysha Bagchi
Judge cautions Trump lawyer on politics in the courtroom
A second Trump lawyer, Alina Habba, also delivered remarks Thursday. She opened by characterizing New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit as politically motivated.
"You have been dragged through a political agenda," Habba said.
Engoron reminded Habba of his guidance that Trump and his team must stick to the law and facts of the case.
Habba indicated she understood and began speaking of specific players in the case. She also turned away from the judge several times to address the scores of onlookers packed into Engoron's Manhattan courtroom as she continued delivering remarks.
Trump and members of his legal team have attacked James, Engoron, and the judge's chief law clerk as Democratic party hacks.
-Aysha Bagchi
'This attorney general wants limitless power.'
He didn't use the words "witch hunt," but Trump lawyer Chris Kise echoed the type of rhetoric his client sometimes employs to describe his sprawling web of legal woes, including the financial and business threats the 2024 Republican frontrunner faces in his civil fraud case.
"This attorney general wants limitless power," Kise told Judge Arthur Engoron Thursday.
More: The stakes in Trump's civil fraud case climb: What the former president stands to lose
Rather than praising President Trump as a business success story, Kise told the court, state Attorney General Letitia James was targeting him for a victimless offense. "It's insane."
Kise added that there's no real world impact from the alleged conduct, and the lawsuit as an attempt to turn a standard business transaction into fraud.
-Aysha Bagchi
Trump lawyer says proposed $370 million fine would violate Constitution
Trump lawyer Chris Kise decried New York Attorney General Letitia James's calls for a $370 million penalty in the civil fraud case and to ban Trump from running a New York business, saying those sanctions would violate the U.S. Constitution. Kise pointed to constitutional provisions that prohibit excessive fines and guarantee due process.The proposed fine is "absurdly disproportionate," Kise said, adding that there was no victim and no harm in the transactions the attorney general has targeted. Trump has also previously complained that loans targeted by the lawsuit were paid back.
-Aysha Bagchi
'He's just making up a story'
Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and now a thorn in his side, was the only witness to support the attorney general's claim that Trump had the intention to defraud, and Cohen isn't credible, Trump lawyer Chris Kise argued Thursday. This is a "serial liar" whose lies are inconsistent with the evidence, Kise said.Cohen testified at trial that he was tasked by Trump "to increase the total assets” on a financial statement by an arbitrary amount Trump had chosen.
"He's just making up a story," Kise said.
More: Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen acknowledges submitting AI-generated fake case citations
Cohen served about 13 1/2 months in prison and a year and a half in home confinement after pleading guilty to breaking campaign finance laws by paying hundreds thousands of dollars in hush money to cover up Trump's alleged sexual liaisons with an adult film actress and a former Playboy model during the 2016 presidential campaign.
-Aysha Bagchi
Trump lawyer touts his client's brand value
Trump lawyer Chris Kise is delivering closing remarks for the former president. He's arguing that various aspects of Trump's net worth were actually undervalued on his financial statements, and that the value of the Trump brand can't be reported properly on an accounting sheet under "GAAP" — an acronym that stands for a set of generally accepted accounting principles.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has argued that the financial statements greatly inflated the value of Trump's assets, and were used to get unfairly favorable loan terms.
In advance of the closing arguments, Trump's legal team submitted proposals for how Engoron should decide both the facts and the law case. The team said if Trump's brand value is accounted for, he is worth "far more than is reflected" on the statements, and Trump shouldn't have to cough up a penny.
-Aysha Bagchi
Trump: New York fraud case ‘a disgrace,’ full of ‘defects’
Donald Trump blasted the case in comments outside the courtroom and told reporters he still hoped to summarize his arguments despite the judge ruling against him.
Trump called the case “election interference at the highest level” and a “disgrace.” He argued that the case is unconstitutional and unfair because the judge will decide his fate rather than a jury.
“I want to make a summation,” Trump said. “At this point, the judge is not letting me make a summation because I’ll bring up things he doesn’t want to hear.”
More: NY appeals court restores gag order on Donald Trump in real estate fraud trial
Trump said he would hold a news conference in the afternoon, although the time hasn’t been set yet.
“I am hoping to speak to reveal all of the defects of this case, which should have never been brought,” Trump said.
--Bart Jansen
Trump's delay request denied
A lawyer for Trump emailed Engoron Tuesday stating that Trump's mother-in-law passed away and Trump was requesting a delay in the closing arguments until Jan. 24.
"I am sorry to hear the sad news," Engoron responded, while also rejecting the delay request. Every appearance by Trump requires court staff to rearrange their schedules, and a jury trial had even been removed from the courtroom on the day of the planned closing arguments, he explained.
"Despite the fact that his Mother-in-Law, who he was very close to, passed away late last night, President Trump will be speaking tomorrow," Trump's lawyer told the judge Wednesday morning.
The judge reiterated his conditions for Trump speaking at the closing arguments and said the lawyer would have to confirm Trump's agreement "NOW." More than an hour later, the lawyer had still failed to do so, Engoron wrote in an email.
-Aysha Bagchi
Judge presiding over Trump civil fraud trial gets bomb threat
Authorities responded Thursday to a bomb threat at the home of New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, but the incident isn’t expected to delay closing arguments in the case.
“There was a threat. I can confirm a bomb threat,” said Al Baker, a court spokesperson. “As of now we are going forward as scheduled and the court proceedings and closing arguments are going ahead as planned.”
-Bart Jansen
Fights over Trump's speech
Trump has attacked the trial, the attorney general, and the judge on social media and within feet of the courtroom. The case is a "witch hunt," James is a "political hack," and Engoron is a "radical Trump hater," according to the former president.
Engoron stepped in with a limited gag order protecting his staff from attacks after Trump targeted the judge's principal law clerk. The judge later said his office had been "inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages" since the trial began.
After Trump repeatedly veered away from a government lawyer's questions to decry the proceedings when he testified in November, the judge urged Trump's lawyer to "control him if you can" or risk having the former president dismissed early and penalized. Trump ultimately completed his testimony.
Engoron may have wanted to forestall a repeat of that performance when he said he would allow Trump to take the unusual step of making a closing argument Thursday, alongside his attorneys, but only if he would stick to the facts and the law of the case. When Trump's lawyer didn't commit to those terms, Engoron said he assumed Trump wasn't willing to agree and therefore "will not be speaking."
-Aysha Bagchi
When will a ruling be made in Trump's civil fraud trial?
Engoron already ruled Trump liable for fraud and ordered the cancelation of his business certificates to operate in New York state -- a penalty suspended while an appeals court reviews the decision. The trial was largely devoted to determining damages in the case, but additional allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records are also at stake. Engoron has said he expects to rule on those matters by the end of January.
-- Bart Jansen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump fraud trial: Trump says case is 'election interference'
