Donald Trump on Thursday burst into a rant, which he reportedly spent days practicing, during the last day of his civil fraud trial.
Trump had wanted to present his own closing arguments, which Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron said he could do so long as the former president abided by a strict set of rules about what he could actually discuss. This included sticking to the matter at hand instead of giving “a campaign speech,” and not attacking New York Attorney General Letitia James or the courtroom staff. When Trump’s lawyers refused to agree, Engoron barred Trump from speaking, a move that Trump called “MEAN & NASTY” on TruthSocial.
During the trial, Trump’s lawyer asked if his client could address the court. Engoron asked if Trump would keep his comments to the facts and evidence at hand, which Trump apparently took as a green light to go right ahead.
“This is a political witch hunt, and that should be set aside,” Trump cut in. “We should receive damages for what we went through.”
“This is a fraud on me,” he continued to rave. “What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me.”
“We have a situation where I’m an innocent man. I’ve been persecuted by somebody running for office, and I think you have to go outside the bounds.”
There is no evidence linking President Joe Biden to the lawsuit. New York’s attorney general sued Trump for fraud.
Trump complained for several minutes about the trial and legal proceedings. He even claimed he had spoken with an insurance executive from Zurich who said they hadn’t been defrauded by Trump.
Trump also insisted he had never had a problem, but Engoron interjected to point out that Trump has been sued before.
“Isn’t that a problem?” Engoron asked.
The judge eventually told Trump’s lawyers to “control your client.”
Trump requested earlier this week to deliver his own closing arguments. He apparently spent days rehearsing an appropriately aggrieved and biting speech, Rolling Stone reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources. Clearly, Trump wasn’t about to let Engoron’s decision stop him from getting his moment in the spotlight.
James accused Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization, and other company executives of fraudulently inflating the value of various real estate assets to get more favorable terms on bank loans. Engoron determined in September that Trump committed fraud and ordered that all Trump’s New York business certificates be canceled, making it nearly impossible to do business in the state and effectively killing the Trump Organization. The current trial is primarily just to determine how much Trump owes in damages.