Closing arguments are underway in a New York court for the civil business fraud trial of former President Donald Trump; two of his sons; and their company, the Trump Organization.
New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump and the other defendants of scheming to falsely inflate the stated values of more than a dozen real estate assets listed on his annual statements of financial condition to reap “hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains” from better loan terms.
James has asked Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron to fine Trump $370 million, ban him from the state’s real estate industry for life and bar him from serving as the officer or director of a New York corporation.
The attorney general also wants his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, banned from the state’s real estate industry for five years.
Trump had planned to make some of the defense’s closing arguments, according to his lawyer, but Engoron on Wednesday barred him from doing so as Trump’s attorney refused to confirm the former president would comply with restrictions on what he would be allowed to say.
Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, denies any wrongdoing in the case and claims he is the victim of a politically motivated persecution by James, a Democrat.
The trial, which did not have a jury, has spanned 44 days.
Engoron is expected to issue his verdict in the case in the coming weeks.
