Former President Donald Trump launched a verbal attack against Judge Arthur Engoron during his civil fraud trial on Thursday. Initially, Engoron had prohibited Trump from speaking on a day dedicated to closing arguments in the case. The lawsuit, filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that Trump, his sons, and their businesses artificially inflated the value of their enterprises and properties. However, Engoron eventually granted Trump five minutes to address the court after his lawyers concluded their closing arguments, as reported by the New York Post.
“I did nothing wrong. They should pay me for what we’ve had to go through,” he said.
At one point in his comments, Trump murmured to Engoron, “I know you have your agenda.”
“Mr. Kise, please control your client,” Engoron said to one of Trump’s attorneys.
After being cautioned by the judge, Trump began his speech.
“If I let you speak, do you promise to just stick to the law and the facts?” Engoron asked Trump, according to the New York Post.
“This case goes outside of just the facts,” Trump said in opening his remarks. “The facts are that the financial statements were perfect, the banks were as happy as can be.”
“This is not a consumer fraud. What happened here, sir, is a fraud on me,” he said.
“We have a situation where I’m an innocent man,” Trump said. “I’ve been persecuted.”
Trump also called the trial a “political witch hunt.”
While Trump was speaking, Engoron held up his phone and told Trump, “One minute,” insinuating that Trump should hurry up.
“You can’t listen for more than one minute?” Trump responded.
Trump subsequently conducted an impromptu press briefing, during which he expressed his belief that James suffers from a severe case of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Within the course of the briefing, he asserted that President Joe Biden is incapable of constructing coherent sentences.
The Post highlighted that James was the primary focus of Trump’s attention throughout the gathering with the press.
“This is just an attorney general who hates Donald Trump,” he said.
“This is an out-of-control attorney general. She’s totally out of control,” Trump said. “These loans were all good. The banks were extremely happy with me. They still are.”
