Donald Trump defies judge, gives courtroom speech on last day of New York fraud trial
- The ex-US president was allowed by Justice Arthur Engoron to make brief comments, but Trump instead launched a bitter attack on the New York attorney general
- When told by the judge to wrap up his statement, Trump responded that Engoron has his ‘own agenda’ and ‘can’t listen for more than one minute’
Donald Trump ignored warnings from the judge in his New York civil fraud trial on Thursday and turned closing arguments into an election campaign attack, claiming that prosecutors are out to stop his political comeback.
Prosecutors are demanding US$370 million from Trump over fraud allegations – and to bar him from conducting business in the state where he made his name as a celebrity real estate tycoon.
Trump had sought to deliver full closing arguments himself, but permission was denied when he failed to sign off on restrictions aimed at stopping him from using the courtroom as an electioneering platform.
Judge Arthur Engoron then allowed Trump to make brief additional comments after his lawyer had spoken – again insisting that the Republican US presidential candidate and former president respect courtroom rules.
Trump almost immediately launched into a bitter attack on the New York state attorney general, saying, “They want to make sure I never win again. The [attorney general] hates Trump … and if I can’t talk about that it’s a disservice.”