Donald Trump has lashed out at Judge Arthur Engoron on social media after also attacking him in court as the civil fraud trial in New York drew to a close.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Engoron had “cut me off” during Thursday’s proceedings after the judge stopped the former president as he went on a tirade lasting several minutes after his lawyers gave their closing arguments.
In an unusual move, Trump had asked whether he could also make a closing argument in the civil case where he is accused of filing fraudulent financial statements which inflated the value of his properties and assets for years.
Engoron had requested that the former president not turn his closing argument into a “campaign speech,” discuss matters which are “irrelevant” to the case, or try to introduce new lines of evidence. Trump’s lawyers denied the judge’s terms, so Engoron rejected the request.
Instead, Engoron allowed Trump to speak uninterrupted for around six minutes after his lawyers presented their legal arguments, during which the former president declared he is “innocent” of the allegations, adding “what happened here, sir, is a fraud on me.” Trump also said he is being “persecuted” by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the $370 million fraud lawsuit against the former president, and that the case is politically motivated as she is “someone running for office.”
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Engoron eventually stopped Trump from talking so the court could go on a scheduled lunch break. Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP primary, has now accused the judge of “election interference” while dismissing the fraud case against him.
“The Judge cut me off in Court and would not let me explain that I was worth much more than the 4 plus $Billion (years ago) I show in the Financial Statements, which are conservatively done,” Trump posted.
“Judge Engoron, curiously, cut Mar-a-Lago’s VALUE by a Billion Dollars, all the way down to $18,000,000 (and other assets as well!) to try and save the A.G.’s case. What is going on here? WITCH HUNT! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Trump and the judge have frequently clashed during the proceedings in New York. Engoron has also fined the former president on two occasions for violating a gag order in place to stop Trump attacking the judge’s court staff in public statements or social media posts.
Reacting to Trump’s diatribe, Lisa Rubin, an attorney and legal analyst, suggested that the former president had hurt his case with his speech. Rubin noted that during his court appearance, Trump admitted that he made an error while valuing his triplex apartment at Trump Tower in New York in his financial statements.
Trump is accused of valuing his Manhattan apartment at $327 million based on claims it was 30,000 square feet in size, when its actual size is just 10,996 square feet.
“Trump went on—without any interruption from Engoron or James’ team—and attacked James, accusing her of election interference,” Rubin wrote for NBC News. “‘You have your own agenda,’ Trump angrily said to Engoron. ‘You can’t listen for more than one minute!’
“There may be a reason that James’ staff didn’t interrupt,” Rubin added. “The AG’s office may have struck gold because some of what Trump said was so damaging to him, especially his explanation of the triplex square footage ‘error.'”
Trump’s office has been contacted for comment via email.
Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud by misrepresenting the value of his properties for years in his financial statements, and the proceedings in New York were mainly to determine the size of the penalty the former president faces.
Reports indicate that Engoron will hand down his ruling by January 31.
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