New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron dismissed yet another request from Donald Trump’s defense team seeking a directed verdict in the former president’s business fraud case in New York City.
The $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and The Trump Organization accuses the former president and his close business partners of inflating Trump’s net worth for financial gain. Engoron already ruled against the former president in a partial summary judgment in September that he and his team misstated the value of his assets on financial records.
Trump has denied all accusations brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James, and his defense lawyers have repeatedly asked for Engoron to issue a directed verdict, claiming that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the former president or his co-defendants.
When asked for a fifth time by the defense team on Tuesday, Engoron responded, “There’s no way I’m going to grant that, but [you can] send me something.”
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Law360 court reporter Stewart Bishop wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Trump defense lawyer Chris Kise had requested the directed verdict because, as Kise claimed, there was “no evidence of fraud, no victims, no damage” that was presented during trial. In past requests for a directed verdict, Engoron has told Kise that there was “enough evidence to fill this courtroom” with proof of Trump’s wrongdoings.
State attorney Kevin Wallace fired back at the defense’s request Tuesday, calling it a “colossal waste of resources.”
“We already have a 45-page PowerPoint presentation on directed verdict from Mr. Kise.” Wallace told Engoron. “This is silly.”
Kise also said while wrapping up the defense’s argument that Trump’s team was taking care of several “housekeeping items” related to the case “for appellate purposes.” Kise’s indication of a future appeal garnered a laugh from Engoron, reported ABC News.
“You’re going to appeal,” the judge responded with a blank response, followed by Engoron breaking into laughter.
Newsweek reached out to Kise’s office via email for comment Tuesday.
Prosecutors had called on a plethora of witnesses to testify while making their arguments to Engoron, including Trump himself, his two eldest sons and his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump. The former president was scheduled to testify again during his defense team’s arguments, although he chose not to stand trial this week. Some experts said that decision was likely a smart move on Trump’s end.
In a post to Truth Social on Tuesday, the former president said that the gag order against him was why he chose not to testify in the fraud case again.
“I wanted to testify on Monday, despite the fact that I already testified successfully,” Trump wrote, while also repeating attacks against James and claiming that the lawsuit was “fake.”
“Anyway, the Judge, Arthur Engoron, put a GAG ORDER on me, even when I testify, totally taking away my constitutional right to defend myself,” the former president added. “We are appealing, but how would you like to be a witness and not be allowed free and honest speech. THE TRIAL IS RIGGED. I DID NOTHING WRONG!!!”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.