Told not to give speech at his trial by judge, Trump does so anyway: 'I’m being persecuted by someone running for office'

The Democratic judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial in New York precluded the Republican front-runner Wednesday from delivering a formal closing argument. On Thursday, Trump defied the judge and seized the opportunity anyway, stressing his innocence and protesting his perceived persecution in a six-minute speech.

Prohibition

The trial drawing to a close this week concerns claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records brought against Trump, two of his sons, and his company. Justice Arthur Engoron ruled ahead of the trial in September that Trump was liable for fraud, having supposedly lied to banks and insurers by misstating the value of his assets.

Engoron initially indicated Wednesday that he might consider allowing Trump to speak if he would agree both to adhere to the rules attorneys are normally bound to in their closing arguments and not to criticize the plaintiffs or prosecutors in the case, reported the Associated Press.

Engoron, who suggested he was "inclined to let everyone have his or her say," specifically said Trump must stick to "relevant, material facts that are in evidence" and avoid introducing new evidence, delivering a "campaign speech," or issuing derogatory remarks aimed at the court or New York's George Soros-backed attorney general, Letitia James.

Trump's legal team suggested the parameters set out by Engoron were unfair.

Christopher Kise, Trump's attorney, stated the limitations were "fraught with ambiguities, creating the substantial likelihood for misinterpretation or unintended violation."

"You are not allowing President Trump, who has been wrongfully demeaned and belittled by an out of control, politically motivated attorney general, to speak about the things that must be spoken about," added Kise.

Engoron responded, "I won't debate this yet again. Take it or leave it."

The Democratic judge, who previously fined Trump for contempt of court, interpreted the failure of the former president's legal team to respond by deadline as a rejection of his terms.

Defiance

Closing statements were made Thursday as the case wound down. Kise asked Engoron to reconsider letting Trump speak for two or three minutes prior to the lunch break, reported CNN.

The Democratic judge once again asked Trump whether he would abide by the limits outlined Wednesday and thereby stick to the facts. Rather than give a simple answer, Trump instead gave his intended speech.

"I think this goes outside just the facts," said Trump, beginning his summative statement. "The facts are the financial statements are perfect, that there are no witnesses against us. The banks got all their money paid back. There were great loans."

"This was a political witch hunt," said Trump, suggesting further that he should receive damages.

"We have a situation where I'm an innocent man," continued Trump. "I've been persecuted by somebody running for office, and I think you have to go outside the bound."

USA Today reported that Trump referenced James in his speech as "the person in the room right now [that] hates Trump."

Engoron told Kise to "control your client."

"This is a fraud on me. What's happened here, sir, is a fraud on me," said Trump.

After several minutes, the judge interrupted Trump: "One minute, that's all I'm saying."

"Your honor, look, I did nothing wrong," continued Trump. "They should pay me for what we had to go through. What they've done to me reputationally and everything else."

The judge finally cut Trump off at 1 p.m., intimating he would have had been allotted more time had it been "done differently."

Trump later wrote on Truth Social, "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. 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!"

The Associated Press indicated that Trump skipped the state's closing arguments to hold a news conference wherein he stated, "They have no case."

The judge, who heard the case without a jury, indicated he planned to have a verdict by Jan. 31. Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit against Trump in 2022, seeks to slap Trump with $370 million in penalties and a lifetime ban on doing business in the state.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!