Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial: On the closing day of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, the former president refuses speech restrictions and faces charges of exaggerating property values.
Judge said, “Take it or leave it,” to Trump’s lawyer he further added, “Now or never.”
On the closing day of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, the former President was expected to speak the closing arguments, but the judge revealed emails that showed he had refused to accept any restrictions on his speech.
New York will not feature any statement from former President Donald Trump during his closing day of the civil fraud trial as the former President did not speak.
Donald Trump’s lawyer has also requested a delay in the hearing until the end of January stating the reason is the death of Melania Trump’s mother considering it is a deeply personal matter.
The judge of Donald Trump’s trial, Arthur Engoran, rejected the request of Trump’s lawyer saying he was sorry, but the arrangement and schedule were already fixed.
The judge also added that he was anxious to hear a full day of closing statements as he considers the case as a whole.
Donald Trump, the former President of the US, and his two adult sons are facing 6 charges of civil fraud after the judge has already found them guilty of business fraud. They are being accused of exaggerating the value of their properties to lure the banks to provide them with millions of dollars as loans. They deny every accusation made against them.
Since the trial is not criminal, here the judge will decide on how much fine Trump will pay as a penalty.
Attorney General Letitia James, the prosecutor, is aiming to seek a fine of $370 million and ban Trump from doing his real estate business in New York City.
US media outlets have been speculating for days about whether to during the closing arguments or not.
On Wednesday, Judge Arthur Engoran made public that the emails he had exchanged with Christopher Kise, who is one of Trump’s lawyers, indicated that it would not happen.
Amalia Knavs, Trump’s mother, who was 78 years old died recently and, in the emails, Kise asked the judge to postpone the hearing until the end of January due to her death.
Judge Engoran has expressed his condolences for his mother but denied the request stating the reason that every time Trump appears in the court it requires a lot of planning and people to change their schedules.
Kise then added that Trump would speak on Thursday, but the judge said that Trump had to agree with some conditions and limitations set by the judge if he wanted to speak during the trial.
The former President, Donald Trump is still expected to show up in court on the 11th of January for the end of the trial which started back in October 2023.
Judge Arthur Engoran has stated that he will decide by the end of the month regarding how much penalty Trump will pay for the case. It was a bench trial, there was no jury.
