Testimony concluded Wednesday in the $250 million civil fraud case against Donald Trump after more than two months of trial, and as the former president noted he had no intention of settling.
The final witness finished testifying Wednesday around 12:30 p.m. in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case against the real estate mogul over allegations that he inflated his assets by billions in annual financial statements to obtain better loan and insurance conditions.
Closing arguments are scheduled for mid-January and the judge has said he expects to issue a verdict in the bench trial later that month.
During the break, attorneys for both sides will work on any motions they want the judge to consider before closing and the verdict.
Trump, 77, dispelled any possibility that his side could reach a deal with the attorney general’s office in an early Wednesday post on Truth Social.
“We keep asking for dismissal, but the Trump-hating (judge) won’t let it go,” he wrote in all caps. “An insult to the United States! He decided I was a fraud before even seeing the case, and then tried to get me to settle.”
Testimony concluded Wednesday in the civil fraud trial against Donald Trump. Gabriela Bass
On Tuesday, James and a group of his attorneys went to speak with Judge Arthur Engoron inside the courtroom for about five minutes.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, also met briefly with the judge behind closed doors, raising questions about whether there were settlement talks, according to ABC News.
Trump’s defense team wrapped up its case Tuesday afternoon following the conclusion of testimony from accounting expert Eli Bartov, who said there was “no evidence of accounting fraud” on Trump’s part.
New York Attorney General Letitia James ended her case after 11 weeks of trial and 40 witnesses. David Sanders
The attorney general’s office presented a brief rebuttal case with two witnesses that began Tuesday afternoon and ended Wednesday to close out trial testimony.
“See you all next year!” Engoron said, according to a post on X by a Courthouse News reporter.
“Interestingly, I will miss this trial,” Engoron said earlier.
Judge Arthur Engoron set his closing arguments for Jan. 11 and said he expects to issue his verdict in the bench trial later that month. fake images
The trial saw a series of dramas since its start on October 2, involving 40 witnesses, including Trump, who received a limited gag order prohibiting him from talking about the judge’s court staff and then received a fined $15,000 when the judge found he had violated the order. twice.
“Today, after 11 weeks of trial, we close our case against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization for years of financial fraud,” Attorney General James said in a statement. “While the judge already ruled in our favor and determined that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family, this trial revealed the full extent of that fraud and the defendants’ inability to refute it.”
“We hope to present our final argument on January 11,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Habba criticized the case saying: “This case was a joke. We lost three months,” ABC News reported.
Habba said the defense “lost even before we could present any evidence.”
Another Trump lawyer, Christopher Kise, said he was hopeful about his eventual appeal in the case, saying evidence from the trial showed “there was no fraud, there were no victims and there was simply no harm.”
Trump indicated he had no intention of settling the case in a Truth Social post earlier Wednesday.
In an explosive ruling just before the start of the trial, Engoron found Trump responsible for one of the key allegations of fraud by the attorney general’s office and withdrew the Trump Organization’s business licenses in New York. This has been put on hold pending the conclusion of the trial and the decision of an appeals court.
Trump was in court for eight days of the trial, where he took nearly every opportunity in front of media cameras to attack the case, the attorney general, the judge and even the judge’s clerk, prompting the gag.
The 45th president, his two oldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and his daughter Ivanka testified at the trial and denied involvement in the attorney general’s claims.
Trump has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn