Trump’s New York fraud trial wraps with business empire at stake: Recap
Closing arguments in former President Trump’s New York civil fraud trial concluded Thursday as the 2024 GOP front-runner once again briefly departed the campaign trail for another courtroom appearance this week.
The former president was front row as his legal team and state lawyers make their final case in a matter in which the attorney general is asking for Trump to be barred from New York’s real estate business and force him to pay nearly $370 million in penalties for falsifying financial records.
The judge overseeing the case will be the sole decider of what penalties Trump will ultimately face. He indicated that he hopes to make a decision by Jan. 31.
Follow below for a recap of the day from New York.
Former President Trump’s civil fraud trial has come to a close after his lawyers and lawyers for the New York attorney general’s office made their final arguments to the judge.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the bench trial with no jury, will be the sole decider of the case. He said Thursday he hopes to issue a decision by Jan. 31, though warned that’s not a “promise” or “guarantee.”
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, has asked Engoron to force Trump to pay a nearly $370 million penalty for falsely altering his net worth on key financial statements to receive tax and insurance benefits.
The state has also asked the judge to bar the former president from New York’s real estate business for life.
— Ella Lee
Judge Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the case, questioned the state over the strength of their evidence against Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Engoron noted that state lawyer Andrew Amer spent a large amount of time arguing that the brothers were aware of the existence of their father’s financial statements, but not much time on whether they knew there was fraud.
“How do you know they knew there was fraud?” Engoron asked Amer. “I don’t see the evidence.”
Amer argued that the judge would have to decide whether “sticking your head in the sand” is a defense, asserting that Trump’s sons either engaged in “fraud or gross recklessness.”
“It’s the same as throwing a brick off a building; I don’t intend to kill anyone, but don’t care where I throw it,” Amer said, drawing some shaking heads from the defense table.
Trump’s two adult sons both distanced themselves from their father’s statements of financial condition in testimony, but the state has maintained that the documents were repeatedly referenced in emails and meetings.
— Ella Lee
State lawyer Andrew Amer briefly defended the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-fixer and personal attorney whom the former president’s lawyers describe as a “serial liar.”
Amer showed Cohen’s testimony that Trump directed him and ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg to “reverse engineer” Trump’s assets to achieve “the number that Trump had tasked us with.”
Trump’s lawyers vigorously attacked Cohen’s credibility during their own closing remarks. Despite that, Amer argued, they never asked Trump directly whether or not such a directive was issued — even when Trump was on the witness stand.
While Amer made his argument, Trump’s lawyers quietly laughed among themselves.
— Ella Lee
Lawyers with the New York attorney general’s office have largely focused their closing arguments on proving Trump and his co-defendants intended to commit fraud.
State lawyer Andrew Amer took the judge through numerous slides detailing instances where top executives were informed that their practices or figures were inaccurate — and that they didn’t change them.
He cited the valuation of the former president’s Trump Tower triplex penthouse, in particular, which from at least 2012 to 2016 was valued as measuring 30,000 square feet — almost three times its actual size. Trump has maintained his business “just made a mistake.”
“Your honor, that screams of an intent to defraud,” Amer said.
— Ella Lee
Kevin Wallace, the state lawyer, argued that fraud is “centric” to the Trump Organization’s operations, drawing an objection from Trump’s counsel.
“Those low interest rates and the savings they generated are what kept the company afloat,” Wallace argued, referring to the alleged sweetheart deals the Trump Organization made with banks due to their skewed financial statements.
Trump attorney Chris Kise interjected that he doesn’t recall any testimony akin to Wallace’s assessment, implying that Wallace himself was testifying.
“Chris, stop!” Wallace said incredulously. He said that the state did not interject during the defense’s closing arguments.
The judge agreed with Kise that such testimony had not been made, but also noted that the state allowed the defense to complete its arguments without interjection.
— Ella Lee
Trump held a brief press conference at 40 Wall Street, one of his New York properties, opting not to return to the court room after lunch at the start of the state attorney general’s portion of closing arguments.
He spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes, railing against the various investigations into his conduct as politically motivated.
Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James and President Biden, and he suggested the fraud trial, a civil case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll and the federal cases against him were all part of an effort to hurt him politically.
“It’s a witch hunt in the truest sense of the word. It’s election interference,” Trump said.
“The people of the United States get it. They get it better than anybody else,” he added.
— Brett Samuels
State lawyer Kevin Wallace began his closing remarks by presenting a slide that read: “Deja Vu All Over Again.”
He argued that the defense’s closing remarks repeated numerous arguments that have already been rejected by Judge Arthur Engoron and the law of the case — and that the law of the case is what it is, despite the fact the defendants “may not like it and think it’s unfair.”
In that instance, Trump’s legal team could “take it to the First Department,” Wallace said, referencing a state appeals court.
“And we’re very sure they know how to get there,” he quipped in a nod to the numerous appeals Trump’s counsel have made on various matters throughout the trial.
— Ella Lee
Closing arguments in Trump’s New York fraud trial have resumed with the state now making its case, but the former president did not return to the courtroom after the day’s lunch break.
Trump indicated earlier in the day he plans to give remarks in Manhattan this afternoon.
After former President Trump was briefly allowed to say his piece, the court is taking its scheduled lunch break.
The state will give its closing remarks when court resumes at 2:15 p.m. EST.
— Ella Lee
Former President Trump gave unexpected remarks inside the courtroom Thursday, slamming the New York attorney general and her civil fraud case against him in a statement to the court.
“The person in the room right now,” he said, referring to New York Attorney General Letitia James, “hates Trump and wants to stop Trump from getting elected.”
“This is a fraud on me,” Trump said. “What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me.”
Trump’s statement came after his lawyer, Chris Kise, asked the court to reconsider his decision to allow the former president to speak. Judge Arthur Engoron asked Trump whether he could contain his statement to “relevant” material, and Trump launched into the speech.
“I think this case goes outside of just the facts,” Trump said, adding that his financial statements were “perfect,” there were no witnesses “against us,” and that the banks are “as happy as can be.”
“This is a political witch hunt,” he said. “We should receive damages … for what they’ve taken this company through.”
— Ella Lee
Clifford Robert, a lawyer for Trump’s adult sons, said that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump had nothing more than “peripheral involvement” in their father’s financial statements.
Robert argued that the attorney general’s evidence is thin against Trump’s adult sons. Even Michael Cohen — the “biggest liar on the planet,” he said — admitted that the Trump sons had “nothing to do” with Trump’s statements of financial condition, he said.
“There literally is no case; this is a press release wrapped up in a lawsuit,” he said.
Trump’s two adult sons, who helped run the Trump Organization with their father, are also named as defendants in the case.
— Ella Lee
Trump lawyer Alina Habba took aim at the accountants who worked with the Trump Organization in defense of her two other clients, ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and ex-controller Jeff McConney.
Habba argued that Weisselberg and McConney “dedicated their entire lives” to the Trump Organization and are being targeted for “human error.”
She also accused the attorney general’s office of targeting Weisselberg and McConney when they did not have enough evidence to go directly after Trump.
“Where’s President Trump? I didn’t see an email from him; I didn’t see anything from him. So (the attorney general’s office is) trying to intimidate my other clients to get to him.”
— Ella Lee
Trump lawyer Alina Habba argued that the New York civil fraud case has a “political agenda” and was “instigated” by Michael Cohen, the former president’s ex-fixer and personal lawyer.
“He sat here, he lied and he instigated all of this,” Habba said. “That’s where this started.”
She asserted that the case failed as soon as Cohen couldn’t prove “some RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] type collusion” at the Trump Organization.
“There’s no proof,” she said.
Attorney General Letitia James has said Cohen’s 2019 testimony before Congress, where he claimed the former president significantly overstated his wealth before taking office, spurred her sprawling investigation into Trump and his business empire.
Cohen first flipped on his former boss amid investigations into a hush money deal made ahead of the 2016 election. He paid a combined $280,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal on Trump’s behalf to cover up allegations of an affair.
— Ella Lee
Trump lawyer Chris Kise has concluded his closing arguments.
Alina Habba, another Trump lawyer and the former president’s legal spokesperson, is the next defense lawyer to present a final summation.
Then, Clifford Robert — an attorney for Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who are also defendants in the case — will give his closing argument.
The attorney general’s office will begin its arguments in the afternoon.
— Ella Lee
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is seeking “unlimited power” to single-out “demonstrably successful businesses,” Trump lawyer Chris Kise said.
“We just cannot allow the attorney general to pursue a victimless fraud and enforce the corporate death penalty,” Kise argued, wrapping up his closing summation.
Kise described the effort as “weaponization,” asserting that while the word “gets tossed around a lot … that’s really what this is.” He said that ruling in the state’s favor would set a dangerous precedent and “open the floodgates” for cases against other New York businesses.
— Ella Lee
Judge Arthur Engoron questioned Trump attorney Chris Kise about whether harm to a third party — in this case, the banks — is necessary to order the former president to pay back any ill-gotten gains.
Kise replied that Trump must have received some benefit from Deutsche Bank that he would not have otherwise received.
The attorney general’s argument, Kise said, is that banks that worked with Trump’s business were shorted millions of dollars in interest because of the incorrect numbers in his statements of financial condition. But the state “never asked the bank” if that’s true, he said, noting that the attorney general’s office produced no bank witnesses to testify.
An expert witness hired by the attorney general’s office testified that the Trump Organization’s skewed financial statements may have cost banks more than $168 million in interest. But Kise said that analysis is “fatally flawed.”
“There is no actual evidence of this impact and no proof certifications caused it,” one of Kise’s presentation slides read.
— Ella Lee
Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-fixer and personal attorney who testified against him at trial, is a “serial liar” who should not be deemed a credible witness, the former president’s lawyer said.
Trump attorney Chris Kise argued that Cohen was the only witness who testified to Trump’s intent or alleged conspiracy. Cohen testified earlier in the trial that Trump directed him and ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg to “reverse engineer” Trump’s assets to achieve “the number that Trump had tasked us with.”
“He’s her only witness; they don’t have anybody else,” he said.
Kise pointed out that Cohen backtracked under cross-examination and cited a recent incident in which the former president’s ex-fixer gave his lawyer fake legal citations concocted by an artificial intelligence program, garnering a laugh from the judge. Trump’s lawyer also pointed to Cohen’s testimony that he is no longer a fan of his onetime client.
“He hates President Trump,” Kise said.
“It’s not possible for the AG to establish by clear and convincing evidence — by preponderance of the evidence, by any evidence — that that man is credible,” he added.
— Ella Lee
As Trump’s lawyer makes his closing argument in the New York fraud trial, the former president appears to be listening intently, staring straight ahead.
During the trial, he frequently made a scene in the courtroom, shaking his head, throwing his hands up or angrily whispering to his attorneys. At one point, when his ex-fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen was testifying, he stormed out of the courtroom.
But today, he appears subdued and steely faced.
— Ella Lee
Trump’s lawyer pointed the finger at Trump’s ex-longtime accountant for any errors in his statements of financial condition — documents at the heart of the case.
Chris Kise said that three people were “most principally” involved in creating Trump’s financial statements: ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg, ex-controller Jeff McConney and Donald Bender, the former accountant.
“Guess which one is a CPA [certified public accountant]?” Kise said. “Bender.”
Bender was the first witness of the trial and was harshly cross-examined by Trump’s legal team, who sought to portray him as negligent.
Kise also said that banks don’t solely rely on the documents when deciding whether to make a deal with would-be borrowers.
“They don’t just rely on a piece of paper handed to them from any borrower; they perform their own analysis. President Trump knows they perform their own analysis,” he said.
— Ella Lee
Trump lawyer Chris Kise argued before the judge that “not one witness” testified that former President Trump committed the widespread fraud alleged by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).
“The attorney general is seeking to strip down, to put a person part of the fabric of the commercial real estate industry in this city and state for 50 years essentially out of business. For what?” Kise said. “For nothing.”
The argument echoes those Trump’s counsel have made throughout the trial — that banks wanted to work with the Trump Organization and did their own due diligence.
— Ella Lee
Former President Trump has arrived at the New York Supreme Court where closing arguments will be heard in his civil fraud trial.
He stopped to talk to the media just outside the courtroom, where he blasted the case for being politically motivated.
Trump also said his team plans to hold a news conference in the afternoon in Manhattan, the timing of which is not yet known.
Authorities responded to a bomb threat at the home of the judge overseeing former President Trump’s New York civil fraud case, just hours before closing arguments are expected in the trial.
A court official confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that police were looking into a threat at Judge Arthur Engoron’s home on Long Island.
— Miranda Nazzaro
The former president is expected to make a final appearance Thursday at the New York Supreme Court, which has morphed into an unexpected campaign stop as he juggles his legal troubles and 2024 presidential bid.
Though Trump is not required to attend the fraud trial, he has regularly made appearances to decry the case as politically motivated — both on the witness stand and in courthouse hallway stump speeches.
Read more about what’s expected today here.
— Ella Lee
Just ahead of closing arguments set to begin Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) highlighted the full “scale and scope” of the fraud her office laid out during the months long trial, expressing confidence the judge would rule on their side.
“Before this trial began, the Court ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family. Throughout this trial, we revealed the full scale and scope of that fraud. I am proud of the case we presented, and I am confident that the facts and the rule of law are on our side,” James said in a statement.
Closing arguments are set to begin at 10 a.m.