Judge rescinds permission for Trump to deliver closing argument in civil fraud trial
(The Hill) — Former President Donald Trump will not deliver his closing argument this week in the sprawling New York fraud trial threatening his business empire after the judge rescinded permission on Wednesday.
The former president had planned to issue a final summation in his defense Thursday as the trial comes to a close, ABC News and The Associated Press reported. Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the bench trial and will decide the verdict, originally approved the plan, according to a source who spoke with the AP.
Engoron rescinded permission on Wednesday after Trump's lawyers objected to the judge's insistence that the former president would stick to “relevant” matters. The Hill requested comment from Trump's lawyers and campaign.
Trump, the Trump Organization and several top executives — including his adult sons — are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) of falsely altering the value of the business’s assets on key financial statements to receive tax and insurance benefits.
The trial could cost Trump hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and strip him of his ability to do business in New York. The former president and current Republican 2024 front-runner denies any wrongdoing, and he has lambasted the case as a “hoax” and a political attack on him. James and the judge are Democrats.
Throughout the trial, Trump has leveraged the spotlight to decry the case as politically motivated — on the witness stand and in courthouse hallway stump speeches. Engoron, his court staff and James, who brought the case in 2022, have each been the subject of Trump's rage.
It would have been unusual for the former president to give a closing statement in the fraud case because he is not representing himself and has several lawyers to do so.
Trump and the judge have repeatedly butted heads throughout the trial, primarily over a gag order the judge imposed barring the former president and his counsel from commenting about his principal law clerk.
Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud ahead of the trial, recasting the trial’s focus on other claims including conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsified business records. Trump's legal team has appealed the decision.
The New York attorney general's office asked the judge to force Trump to pay nearly $370 million as a penalty and to issue a lifetime ban on the former president and two top executives from doing real estate business in New York. The office also asked for a five-year ban on the participation of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the former president's adult sons, in the New York real estate industry.
Engoron has said he could issue a decision in the case as soon as this month, once closing arguments are complete.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.