In a civil trial in New York state (USA), state prosecutors are seeking to force Mr. Trump to pay $370 million for fraud allegations, as well as ban him from doing business in the state that helped him build his name in the real estate sector, according to AFP.
Mr Trump sought to make his final statement in full in a New York court on January 11, but the request was denied when he refused to agree to restrictions that would prevent him from using the courtroom as a campaign venue.
Judge Arthur Engoron then allowed Mr Trump to make a brief statement, after his lawyer spoke, again stressing that the former president respected the rules of the courtroom.
Mr. Trump in New York on January 11
Mr Trump almost immediately launched into a blistering tirade against the New York attorney general. "They want to make sure I never win again. (The New York attorney general) hates me... and if I can't talk about it, that's unfair," the former president said.
Judge Engoron tried to interrupt Mr Trump and warned that he might not be allowed to continue speaking. Mr Trump replied: "You have your own agenda, you can't listen for more than a minute."
Judge Engoron told Mr Trump's lawyer to "control his client".
The New York case is one of several criminal and civil cases facing Mr. Trump as he seeks to return to the White House through the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The charges range from rape allegations to conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results.
New York prosecutors accuse Mr. Trump of artificially inflating or deflating the value of his assets to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.
If the judge finds him liable, the amount of money that Mr. Trump and his companies must pay will be disclosed in a final judgment, but the date for the judgment has not yet been confirmed. The judge said he would try to issue a ruling by January 31.
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Mr Trump, as usual, took full advantage of the intense media attention, telling reporters that he was the subject of a witch hunt. In court, the former president claimed he was an “innocent man” who was being “persecuted”.
Because this is a civil case, not a criminal one, Mr. Trump is not at risk of going to jail.
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