The left-wing judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s fraud trial in New York has denied Trump the opportunity to personally present his defense.
On Wednesday, Judge Arthur Engoron reversed course and rejected Trump’s bid to argue his own cause during closing arguments, which occur today.
Engoron initially told Trump’s legal team in an email exchange that he would approve the atypical request, saying he was inclined “to let everyone have his or her say.”
But then the judge set parameters for Trump’s comments.
Read: Florida AG Ashley Moody Renews Call For Impeachment Of Alejandro Mayorkas
Trump would only be allowed to comment on the other attorneys’ closing arguments, including “commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.”
On the other hand, Trump could not introduce new evidence, offer remarks about “irrelevant matters,” or “deliver a campaign speech.” Trump also could not criticize Engoron, his staff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, her staff or the court system.
In reply, one of Trump’s lawyers, Christopher Kise, called the judge’s boundaries “very unfair.”
Engoron’s rules, he added, were “fraught with ambiguities, creating the substantial likelihood for misinterpretation or an unintended violation.”
“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,” Kise wrote.
Read: Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Seeks Criminal Investigation Into Fani Willis
Engoron reportedly gave Trump’s team until noon Wednesday to say whether the former president would close his own case. Trump apparently did not respond.
James has put Trump on trial for fraud, claiming he overinflated the costs of his real estate holdings and misled lenders about the value of his assets. She has pegged the figure at $370 million.
Yet Trump also repaid all of his loans, and none of the banks Trump dealt with have actually claimed he wronged them.
James, who vowed to get Trump from the moment she was elected, essentially pursued the former president without any “victims.”
Engoron has gone along for the ride.
As the Associated Press reported in October, the judge “resolved the lawsuit’s top claim before the trial even began, ruling that Trump routinely deceived banks, insurers and others by exaggerating the value of assets on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans.”
Beyond that, as New York GOP. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 4 Republican in the House, noted in November in a complaint about Engoron to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the judge once told Trump’s lawyer that the former president is “just a bad guy” and that James, a Democrat, should “go after” him.
Engoron also ignored a ruling for Trump by an appellate court that questioned the statute of limitations in the case, Stefanik noted.
Moreover, Engoron also has donated money to Democratic political candidates even though rules prohibit that.
The judge, she asserted, “is making New York’s judicial system a laughingstock.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help. Visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.