Internet divided as judge rules Trump cannot speak in his defense during closing arguments of fraud trial

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former US President Donald Trump's legal team objected to Judge Arthur Engoron's insistence that the former president stick to "relevant" matters and avoid delivering a campaign speech during his civil business fraud trial in New York.

Trump had planned to personally deliver the closing argument on Thursday, but Judge Engoron nixed his plan the day before the closing arguments were scheduled to take place.

Initially, the judge had indicated that he was open to the idea of Trump speaking if he agreed to abide by the rules that apply to attorneys' closing arguments.

However, Trump's legal team felt that the limitations imposed on their client unfairly silenced him, failing to agree with the judge.

As a result, the judge assumed that Trump was not agreeing to the restrictions and therefore would not be speaking.

Trump responded to the decision on his Truth Social platform by describing it as "MEAN & NASTY." Nevertheless, he indicated that he would still attend the court proceeding on Thursday.

The trial could have significant financial implications for Trump, with the potential to cost him hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and strip him of his ability to do business in New York, per The Associated Press.

The case relates to allegations that Trump inflated his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements to secure business loans and insurance.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has characterized the case as a "hoax" and a political attack on him.

It is worth noting that Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit, are both Democrats.

What is the civil business fraud that Trump’s been accused of?

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking over $370 million from former president Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

The case accuses them of fraudulently inflating the value of assets to secure better business deals. In a post-trial brief released last Friday, AG James raised the amount sought from the original $250 million to $370 million.

She's also calling for a permanent ban of Trump and his sons from running any businesses in New York.

The trial could potentially impact Trump's personal fortune and real estate empire, which helped him reach the White House in 2016.

Along with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, other top Trump Organization executives are accused of using "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to make Trump's net worth appear higher than it was.

After the judge ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted "fraudulent valuations" for his assets, the trial will determine what additional actions are necessary and any possible penalties the defendants should receive.

The presiding judge issued an order for a receiver to assume control of certain properties belonging to the former president. However, this directive has been temporarily stayed by an appeals court.

The remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records are being closely examined and the verdict will ultimately be decided by Judge Arthur Engoron.

Trump's legal team has argued that his alleged inflated valuations were due to his business acumen and denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

What’s been the matter regarding the closing arguments?

During his testimony in November, Trump engaged in a heated exchange of words with the court and state attorneys while defending his real estate business.

After giving it some thought, he finally opted against testifying again, stating that he had "nothing more to say."

On the second day of the trial, Trump offended Engoron with a derogatory social media post regarding the judge's law clerk where false information regarding the clerk's personal life was implied.

Following that, Engoron issued a limited gag order that prevented anyone involved in the trial from speaking out about court employees.

Subsequently, the judge declared that Trump repeatedly flouted the order and fined him a total of $15,000, which the defense team for Trump has been appealing.

In a recent email discussion over Trump's possible summation, Engoron forewarned Trump's legal team that breaking the gag order would result in the former president being escorted out of court and subject to a minimum $50,000 punishment.

Per ABC News, in an email exchange with defense attorneys that was made public on Wednesday, Engonon stated that Trump would be required to abide by the case's limited gag order and that he would not be permitted to "impugn" the attorney general of New York or her staff.

Trump's attorney Chris Kise rejected these restrictions, labeling them as "untenable." Engoron replied on January 9, per the email thread, "The limitations I am imposing, in my absolute discretion, are not subject to further debate. Take it or leave it.”

The judge decided that Trump could not testify when his attorneys failed to meet the initial deadline that he had set.

In response, Kise said he hadn't noticed the deadline and asked for a postponement of the final arguments due to Melania Trump's mother's death on Tuesday.

Kise replied, "I am sad to advise the Court that Mrs. Trump's mother passed away this evening. Because of the challenges presented by this deeply personal family matter, President Trump has asked that I request the Court postpone the date for closing argument."

Engoron swiftly rejected the proposal and informed Kise that the scheduled date for closing arguments would go forward as planned.

"On balance, going forward makes the most sense. Please tell Mr. Trump that I am sorry," Engoron wrote back.

Likewise, Kise told Engoron that Trump still intended to attend and speak at the closings.

"Despite the fact that his Mother-in Law, who he was very close to, passed away late last night, President Trump will be speaking tomorrow," Kise replied in the email thread.

Kise retaliated after Engoron asked for confirmation that Trump had accepted his regulations, writing, "You are not allowing President Trump, who has been wrongfully demeaned and belittled by an out of control, politically motivated Attorney General, to speak about the things that must be spoken about."

"I won't debate this yet again. Take it or leave it. Now or never. You have until noon, seven minutes from now. I WILL NOT GRANT ANY FURTHER EXTENSIONS," the judge replied in all caps to emphasize the seriousness of the restrictions he’s imposed on the former President.

Engoron emailed Kise when he failed to respond that he assumed Trump would not be speaking and that their email correspondence would be disclosed to the court's public docket.

Internet sides with Judge Engoron as Trump chooses to attend the closing of the civil fraud trial

People on X trolled the former President seeing how everyone is aware of his ploy to rally his supporters from the court stand by deriding the judges, lawyers, and the State Attorney General for going after him.

One X user remarked: "He never intended to speak. He would never agree to cross examination. This is all a ploy as per usual to claim his victimhood."

Another user said: "Of course--Trump had a chance to testify & chose not to--probably because he didn't want to get cross examined! SO now he wants to testify--give a closing "testimony"--with no fear of a REAL cross examination?! Na man ya don't get to do that! Judge is right."

Another user wrote: "Like he was really gonna do it anyway."

One user stated: "Don’t let Trump hold a news conference in the court building. If the lawyers can’t meet the requirements for closing, they too should be excluded."

Another X user claimed: "It is almost unknown for a defendant to give his own closing when he has an attorney. But the judge would allow it. Because the judge set rules, trump decided as usual that he didn't want to follow court rules and backed down."

Finally, this user tweeted: "Dude is miffed he can’t turn the court into a place to campaign. Thoughts and prayers."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.