During the concluding day of the politically motivated civil “fraud” trial led by Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James against the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump expressed his strong disapproval towards Judge Arthur Engoron.
Trump vehemently criticized Engoron, who was presiding over the civil business “fraud” trial, during the closing arguments on Thursday. Despite the judge’s refusal to permit Trump to deliver his own summation, the former president continued to lambast Engoron within the courtroom.
As per the report by Slay News, Trump had requested the opportunity to present his own closing argument during the trial. However, Engoron denied Trump the chance to speak.
On Wednesday, Engoron alerted Trump’s attorneys: “by the third extended deadline (noon today), I assume that Mr. Trump will not agree to the reasonable, lawful limits that I have imposed as a precondition to giving a closing statement above and beyond those given by his attorneys, and that, therefore, he will not be speaking in court tomorrow.”
However, when it came to the closing arguments, Trump decided to voice his opinion regardless. According to the Associated Press, he delivered a lengthy six-minute speech in which he criticized both Engoron and NY AG James. The report states that Trump vehemently criticized the judge after his lawyer, Christopher Kise, inquired once again if Trump wished to address the court. Trump commenced his speech when Engoron questioned whether he would adhere to the previously suggested guidelines.
“This is a fraud on me,” Trump said.
“What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me.
Afterwards, he leveled an accusation against the judge for disregarding his words, prompting Engoron to instruct Trump’s legal team to “manage your client.”
Subsequently, he granted the 45th president a brief moment to address the court before recessing for lunch.
“We have a situation where I am an innocent man,” Trump added.
“I’m being persecuted by someone running for office and I think you have to go outside the bounds.”
Prior to entering the courtroom on Thursday, Trump positioned himself alongside his legal representatives outdoors and denounced the trial as “election interference at the highest level.”
Trump contends that election interference is “in coordination with the White House and Joe Biden.”
“It is indeed a terrible witchhunt,” Trump said.
“As you know, I want to speak, I want to give a summation.
“At this moment, the judge is not letting me make the summation because I’ll bring up things that he doesn’t want to hear.
“It’s a very unfair trial. Nobody has ever seen anything like this.”
"A DISGRACE AND ELECTION INTERFERENCE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL," Trump says outside the courtroom in New York before closing arguments. WATCH pic.twitter.com/qTej8aaybr
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 11, 2024