The latest news from Trump's civil fraud trial
- Closing arguments were delivered today in the civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump; his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump; and the Trump Organization.
- Trump team lawyers Chris Kise, Alina Habba and Cliff Robert went first, followed by attorney general lawyers Kevin Wallace and Andy Amer. Judge Arthur Engoron said he aims to have a final decision by the end of the month.
- State Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million in fines and to bar Trump from the New York real estate industry.
- Trump attended today's arguments and was allowed to speak briefly during part of the presentation by his lawyers. The judge previously rejected a similar request after Kise and Trump would not agree to refrain from personal attacks in the former president's proposed closing statement.
Trump on trial: What to expect in 2024 from the former president’s legal cases
The past year saw Donald Trump on trial twice, indicted four times and hit with a multimillion-dollar civil verdict while also fighting off other legal challenges and running for president; his 2024 court calendar could be even more chaotic.
The former president faces up to five separate trials in the new year and verdicts in two civil cases that could cost him and his business hundreds of millions of dollars. In the four criminal cases, he faces 91 felony counts, including some on charges that carry maximum prison terms of 20 years.
Only one of the impending trial dates appears to be set in stone: that of the civil damages trial in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, which is scheduled to start Jan. 16. That’s one day after the Iowa caucuses, in which Trump is leading in the polls and has predicted an “epic landslide” victory.
The trial dates for the four pending criminal cases are all in flux thanks to Trump appeals and efforts to delay them until after the election, but it’s possible he could stand trial as early as March in either the federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., or the Manhattan district attorney’s case in New York alleging falsified business records.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and has denied wrongdoing in the civil cases. He maintains all the cases are “election interference” and has sought to delay the criminal cases until after the 2024 elections.
Here’s a look at the statuses of the biggest pending cases.
ICYMI: Key developments since testimony wrapped
Here’s what you may have missed since testimony ended in mid-December.
James demanded $370 million in fines against Trump and his companies as well as a lifetime ban on the former president and two former company executives from the state's real estate industry.
The proposed fines include $168 million in interest allegedly saved through fraud; $152 million from the sale of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., the site of one of Trump’s former hotels; $60 million through the transfer of the contract for Trump's former Ferry Point golf course in the Bronx borough of New York; and $2.5 million from severance agreements for former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Howard Weisselberg and ex-Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney.
A heated exchange ensued between Engoron and Trump’s lawyers after the former president asked to deliver some of the closing arguments himself. Engoron rejected the request yesterday and released an email chain with Trump attorney Chris Kise and James' office. It showed that Kise first told Engoron of Trump’s request in an email last Thursday, and Andrew Amer of the AG’s office swiftly opposed the idea.
“Allowing Mr. Trump to participate in closing arguments would effectively grant him an opportunity to testify without being subject to cross-examination,” Amer wrote.
Engoron replied the next day, saying he was “inclined” to allow Trump to speak because he was the person with “by far the most at stake” — but Trump must stick to speaking about the evidence and could not “testify,” “comment on irrelevant matters,” “deliver a campaign speech” or “impugn myself, my staff, plaintiff, plaintiff’s staff or the New York State Court System.”
Kise replied Tuesday that Trump could not agree to those conditions and asked Engoron to reconsider. Engoron said Trump would be free to comment “on the arguments of an opposing party or counsel, but may not seek to impugn their character.”
After Kise did not meet the deadline to respond, Engoron denied the request for a delay in the closing arguments. Kise replied that Trump would still attend closing arguments and planned to speak; Engoron then reiterated that Trump could speak only if he agreed to the conditions he outlined, which Kise replied was “very unfair.”
At that point, Engoron seemed to have had enough: “Take it or leave it. Now or never,” he told Kise. Engoron gave Kise seven minutes to agree to his terms, but Kise did not respond, prompting Engoron to say he wouldn't allow Trump to testify.
Trump case was never 'about politics or personal vendetta,' James says
James made brief remarks this evening after the trial concluded, saying she was unbothered by Trump's personal attacks and that the case was only about the law.
"This case has never been about politics or personal vendetta or about name-calling. This case is about the facts and the law, and Mr. Trump violated the law," James said.
She added that her office had produced evidence showing the scope of the illegality and fraud that she said enriched Trump and his family.
James' remarks were under two minutes and she did not take questions from reporters.
Closing arguments conclude; trial is over
Trump's civil fraud trial is over.
Attorneys for the AG's office finished their closing arguments shortly before 5 p.m. ET.
Engoron said he will try to have a final decision by Jan. 31, adding that there is "no guarantee" on that timing.
Judge interrupts arguments to criticize prosecution's post-trial brief
Engoron interrupted closing arguments from the prosecution this afternoon to say that their post-trial brief did not show much evidence that Eric and Don Jr. knew there was fraud.
The interruption came as Amer was arguing that Eric and Don Jr. "did not do anything to fulfill their responsibilities," and that a decision they allegedly made to leave statements of financial condition with Weisselberg and McConney and not Hawthorne demonstrated their intent to defraud and inflate their father’s net worth.
Attorney for AG's office says the 'buck stops' with Trump
Amer argued for the AG's office that the “buck stops” with Trump when it comes to the former president's alleged intent to defraud.
"He was the one responsible for the preparation and the buck stops with him," Amer said, adding that Trump had personally signed bank certifications "so he clearly knew the statements were being used to satisfy the loan guarantees and was important to make sure net worth was high as possible."
Arguments resume
The closing arguments by the attorney general's staff have resumed.
Court takes a break
The court has taken another break.
Kise expresses outrage after Wallace says he made a baseball reference
In response to a comment from Wallace calling Trump's witnesses "a murderers' row" of experts, Kise objected and expressed outrage.
"You talk about me and my client like that? This is outrageous," Kise said.
Engoron then asked if Wallace was actually accusing them of murder and Wallace said he was making a baseball reference to a good lineup of hitters.
Trump lashes out at AG Letitia James, says 'they have no case'
Speaking to reporters in the lobby of his building at 40 Wall St., the former president dismissed New York Attorney General Letitia James' case against him, his business and his family members who are defendants in the lawsuit.
Trump called James "a political hack" and said the prosecutors "don't have any facts ... they don't have any evidence against it." He said that James has "serious Trump derangement syndrome."
"We won this case already in the Court of Appeals," Trump said, adding that Engoron "has been very, very slow to accept that opinion because that's not the opinion that he wants."
"It's a witch hunt in the truest sense of the word. It's election interference," said Trump, who suggested that it's a "conspiracy" to get Biden re-elected.
"It's like we're a third-world country, a banana republic," he said.
Taking several questions from reporters at the end, Trump said that he plans to "go to all of my trials," including the classified documents case. He said he did "nothing wrong" when it came to taking records from the White House back to Mar-a-Lago.
At the end of the press availability, a number of Trump supporters were cheering for him in the lobby of his building.