In the $370 million New York civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron stated on Wednesday that he does not anticipate Donald Trump making a statement during closing arguments.
According to a letter sent by Engoron to Trump’s lawyers and New York Attorney General Letitia James just after noon on Wednesday, Trump has refused to comply with the criteria he imposed in the event that the former president wishes to make a statement.
“Therefore, Mr. Trump will not be speaking in court tomorrow,” Engoron wrote. “Since I have not heard from you by the third extended deadline (noon today), I assume that he will not agree to the reasonable, lawful limits I have imposed on him before he can give a closing statement beyond what his attorneys have already given.
According to their email exchanges, the parties have been debating whether or not Trump should take part in the final arguments since last week.
While Trump and his associates have utilised his court appearances to accuse Joe Biden of interfering with the election, portray his legal troubles as political persecution, and divert attention from his Republican opponents who have failed to reduce his commanding lead in the polls.
Although Trump is not being investigated for criminal charges related to the civil fraud case, the accusations against the ex-president have a direct impact on him. The attorney general of New York is pursuing a $370 million damage award and is also seeking to prohibit Trump from engaging in business within the state.
Claiming to have inflated the worth of the former president’s assets to gain more favourable rates, the New York attorney general argues that Trump, his two adult sons, and his corporation cheated banks and insurance firms. In the bench trial, which began after Engoron found Trump guilty of fraud, the judge is now deliberating on damages and six other claims.
Even though it was ultimately up to the judge’s decision, the AG’s office was against Trump speaking during the defense’s final argument.
“Authorising Mr. Trump to deliver closing argument will encourage additional speeches that will ‘unduly disrupt’ the proceedings,” Andrew Amer stated in an email last Thursday.
Engoron and Trump have had several heated exchanges during the eleven weeks of the trial. After Trump attacked the judge’s clerk on social media during the first week of the trial, the judge imposed a gag order prohibiting remarks regarding his staff. Trump was subjected to two fines by Engoron for his repeated violations of the gag order. One of these violations was his out-of-court remark criticising the judge, which prompted Engoron to call Trump to the witness stand and ask him about his remarks.
Do what you want with it. This is the time
In his own defence closing statement, Engoron extended an invitation to Trump to speak, but he insisted that the former president adhere to certain restrictions that would restrict his speech. According to the judge, he cannot run for office.
Trump would be fined and removed from court, according to Engoron, if he broke the gag order.
“Accordingly, at my sole discretion, I will grant Mr. Trump permission to deliver a closing argument. However, this will only be granted if, by 1/9/2024, and in his own words, right before he speaks, he promises to keep his arguments focused on the lawful topics, such as commentary on the relevant facts in the evidence and the application of that law to those facts,” Engoron stated in an email last week.
It is possible he will not try to present any fresh proof. “Testimony” does not apply to him. “He is not allowed to make remarks about unrelated subjects,” Engoron stated. “Specifically, and without limitation, he is not allowed to make a political statement, and he is not allowed to criticise the plaintiff, plaintiff’s team, myself, my staff, or the New York State Court System. None of these things pertain to this case, and besides criticising my staff, there are other places where he can and does do it.”
According to email records, Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise went back and forth with Engoron minutes before the deadline, stating that Trump would not agree to such terms.
The proposed preconditions and prior restraints are not acceptable to him, and I would advise him against doing so, Kise stated in an email answer.
“Your and your client’s rejection of the reasonable, normal limits I am imposing on any argument by Mr. Trump, which are the same limits that the law imposes on any person making a closing argument, completely justifies the need to impose them,” Engoron wrote in a subsequent email Tuesday, pushing back against Trump’s claims.
On multiple occasions, Engoron gave Trump’s team one last chance to agree to the terms before Wednesday noon, and he extended the deadline.
I will not argue this point further. Accept it or reject it. This is the time. Just seven minutes from now, at noon, is your deadline. The extension will not be extended any further, Engoron wrote to Kise.
The environment of politics
The closing arguments will take place two days after Trump’s unimpressive courtroom appearance in Washington, DC, which did not receive the same level of attention as the former president’s frequent visits to the New York courthouse.
The federal courthouse, according to Trump’s advisors, would not provide him with a platform to grab the limelight. While in Washington, he stayed at a private club, rode in a convoy to a garage, and then entered a courthouse without any cameras or microphones due of flight limitations in the nation’s capital.
President Trump took part in oral arguments about his claims of presidential immunity at the United States Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The purpose of Trump’s attendance, six days before the Iowa caucuses, was to divert attention away from his Republican opponents. However, he is free to decline the invitation.
Despite Trump’s insistence on going to the hearing, he decided at the last minute to have a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, so his crew and the US Secret Service had to rush to get him there.
Going to court is obviously not something we want him to do. We had no request for that. That being said, we’re making do with what we have, according to one top adviser who spoke with AWN.
Just last month, Trump and his legal team changed their minds about calling Trump as the last witness in the civil fraud case in New York. Trump informed reporters in Ireland last spring that he was ending his vacation and would “probably attend” the civil trial in New York over E. Jean Carroll’s rape accusation so that he could “confront” the claim. He stayed home.
No live coverage of the final arguments
Engoron, meantime, has turned down a request to air the final arguments from a group of media outlets.
“I hereby deny your application to stream the proceedings live,” Engoron stated in an order sent to the parties via email on Wednesday. I know this case has brought up some major safety concerns, but I still think it’s important for the press to have access and for there to be openness. I hope others feel the same way.
Prior to the start of closing arguments, photographers will still be able to capture images and videos of Trump and his lawyers. The corridors where Trump often addresses the media will also remain open for them to criticise the judge, the New York attorney general, and President Joe Biden.
