Donald Trump Defies Judge, Gives Courtroom Speech on Tense Final Day of New York Civil Fraud Trial

Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom at the New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom at the New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Donald Trump Defies Judge, Gives Courtroom Speech on Tense Final Day of New York Civil Fraud Trial

Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom at the New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom at the New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Barred from giving a formal closing argument, Donald Trump wrested an opportunity to speak in court at the conclusion of his New York civil fraud trial Thursday, unleashing a barrage of attacks in a six-minute diatribe before being cut off by the judge.
In an extraordinary move for any defendant, Trump not only sought to make his own summation but then brushed past a question from the judge about whether he would follow rules requiring him to keep his remarks focused on matters related to the trial, The Associated Press said Friday.
“I am an innocent man,” Trump protested. “I’m being persecuted by someone running for office, and I think you have to go outside the bounds.”
Judge Arthur Engoron let him continue almost uninterrupted for what amounted to a brief personal summation, then cut him off for a scheduled lunch break.
Trump's in-court remarks, which were not televised, ensured a tumultuous final day for a trial over allegations that he habitually exaggerated his wealth on financial statements, deceiving a bank and insurance companies into giving him plum deals.
Engoron said he hoped to have a verdict by Jan. 31. He is deciding the case because state law doesn’t allow for juries in this type of lawsuit.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that gives her broad power to investigate allegations of persistent fraud in business dealings. She wants the judge to impose $370 million in penalties and forbid Trump from doing business in New York.
Adding to the day's tension, the exchanges took place hours after authorities responded to a bomb threat at the judge’s house in New York City's suburbs. The scare didn't delay the start of court proceedings, and Engoron didn't mention it in court.
Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has disparaged Engoron throughout the trial, accusing him in a social media post Wednesday night of working closely with James. Both she and Engoron are Democrats.
The court action came days before the presidential primary season kicks off with the Monday's Iowa caucuses.
Engoron had rejected an unusual plan by Trump to deliver his own closing remarks in the courtroom, in addition to summations from his legal team. The sticking point was that Trump's lawyers would not agree to the judge’s demand that he stick to “relevant” matters and not try to introduce new evidence, make a campaign speech or lob personal attacks at the judge, James or the court system.
After three Trump lawyers delivered traditional closing arguments Thursday, one of them, Christopher Kise, asked the judge again whether Trump could speak. Engoron asked Trump whether he would abide by the guidelines.
Trump didn't agree to do so, instead launching into his remarks.
“What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me," Trump said, claiming he was being targeted by officials who “want to make sure I don't win again.” He later accused the judge of not listening to him: “I know this is boring to you.”
“Control your client,” Engoron warned Kise.
Engoron then told Trump he had a minute left, let him speak a little more, and then adjourned.
James later said she wasn't bothered by Trump's personal attacks.
“This case has never been about politics or personal vendetta or about name-calling,” she said outside court. "This case is about the facts and the law. And Mr. Donald Trump violated the law.”
A lawyer for her office, Kevin Wallace, had argued in court that “fraud was central to the operation" of Trump's business. Wallace asserted that inflating Trump’s fortune led to interest rate savings that “kept the company afloat” for a time when it was spending big on various projects, though Kise objected that there was no testimony to that effect.
The state insisted that the falsehoods were intentional and that Trump should be held accountable for them.
“Ask yourself: Would any of this persistent fraud have happened, over the course of 11 years, if it wasn’t directed from the top by Mr. Trump?” state lawyer Andrew Amer posited during summations.
Trump skipped the state's closing arguments to hold a news conference that served as counter-programming. He reiterated his insistence that “they have no case.”
His lawyers had argued as much in their summations. Kise said Trump “should get a medal” for his business acumen instead of a potential punishment he deemed the “corporate death penalty.”
While he acknowledged that Trump's financial statements may have made “immaterial” overstatements about some of his holdings, the lawyer maintained that many assets "were undervalued by substantial sums.”
The day began with police on Long Island checking out what they called a “swatting incident at Engoron’s home. Nassau County police said they found nothing amiss.
The false report came days after a fake emergency call reporting a shooting at the home of the judge in Trump’s Washington, D.C., criminal case. The incidents are among a recent spate of similar false reports at the homes of public officials.
Engoron ruled before the trial that Trump had committed years of fraud by lying about his riches on financial statements with tricks like claiming his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size.
The trial involves six undecided claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. Trump’s company and two of his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are also defendants. Eric Trump was also in court for closing arguments.
In a ruling last month, the judge suggested he’s inclined to find Trump and his co-defendants liable on at least some claims. Assets can be valued in different ways, the judge wrote, "but a lie is still a lie.”
However, Engoron asked the state lawyers Thursday what evidence they had that Trump's sons knew of the alleged fraud. “I just haven't seen it,” the judge said.
Amer responded that the sons, as top executives, bore responsibility even if they claimed to be unaware of the purported wrongdoing.
Since the trial began Oct. 2, the former president has gone to court nine times to observe, testify and complain to TV cameras about the case.
He clashed with Engoron and state lawyers during 3½ hours on the witness stand in November and remains under a limited gag order after making a disparaging and false social media post about the judge's law clerk.
On Tuesday, he was in court in Washington, D.C., to watch appeals court arguments over whether he is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election — one of four criminal cases against him. Trump has pleaded not guilty.



Pandemic Accord, Tightened Budget on Menu at Big WHO Meet

The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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Pandemic Accord, Tightened Budget on Menu at Big WHO Meet

The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Next week promises to be a crucial one for the World Health Organization, with member states coming together in Geneva to adopt a landmark pandemic agreement and a slimmed-down budget amid US funding cuts.

Dozens of high-ranking officials and thousands of delegates are set to gather for the United Nations health agency's annual decision-making assembly, due to last from May 19 to 27.

"This huge gathering comes... at a pivotal moment for global health," Catharina Boehme, WHO's assistant director-general for external relations and governance, told reporters.

It comes as countries are confronting "emerging threats and major shifts in the landscape for global health and international development", she said.

More than five years after the emergence of Covid-19, which killed millions of people, much of the focus next week will be on the expected adoption of a hard-won international agreement on how to better protect against and tackle future pandemics.

After more than three years of negotiations, countries reached consensus on a text last month but final approval by the World Health Assembly is needed -- a discussion expected to take place on Tuesday.

'Without the US'

The United States, which has thrown the global health system into crisis by slashing foreign aid spending, was not present during the final stretch of the talks.

US President Donald Trump ordered a withdrawal from the WHO and from the pandemic agreement talks after taking office in January.

The agreement "is a jab in the arm for multilateralism, even if it is multilateralism in this case without the US", said a European diplomat who asked not to be named.

The WHA will be called upon to ratify the adoption of the agreement and to launch an intergovernmental working group to negotiate technical details of the so-called Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS), said negotiations co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou.

Core to the agreement, that system will be aimed at allowing the swift sharing of pathogen data with pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to quickly start working on pandemic-fighting products.

Once the PABS annex is completed and adopted at the 2026 WHA, "the whole (agreement) will open for signature", Steven Solomon, WHO's principal legal officer, told reporters.

Ratification by 60 states will be needed for the accord to come into force.

Deep cuts

Also high on the agenda next week will be the dramatic overhaul of WHO operations and finances.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states last month that the agency would need to slim down due to deep US funding cuts.

The agency has been bracing for Trump's planned full withdrawal of the United States -- by far its largest donor -- next January.

The United States gave WHO $1.3 billion for its 2022-2023 budget, mainly through voluntary contributions for specific projects rather than fixed membership fees.

"The loss of US funding, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, mean we are facing a salary gap for the next biennium of more than $500 million," Tedros said on Wednesday.

Tedros has not said how many jobs will be lost, but on Wednesday he announced the organization would cut its leadership team nearly in half.

Budget gap

Next week, member states will vote on a proposed 20-percent increase of WHO's mandatory membership fees for the 2026-27 budget period, Boehme said.

Members already agreed in 2022 to increase the mandatory fees to cover 50 percent of the WHO budget.

Without that decision, Tedros said Wednesday that "our current financial situation would be much worse -– $300 million worse".

"It is essential, therefore, that member states approve this next increase, to make another step towards securing the long-term financial sustainability and independence of WHO."

Countries will also be asked to adopt the 2026-2027 budget, at a time when development assistance funding, including for health resources, are dwindling globally.

"We have proposed a reduced budget of $4.2 billion for the 2026-2027 biennium, a 21-percent reduction on the original proposed budget of 5.3 billion," Tedros said.

If the increase in membership fees is approved, the WHO estimates it can raise more than $2.6 billion, or more than 60 percent of the budget.

"That leaves an anticipated budget gap of more than $1.7 billion," Tedros said.