Donald Trump "hung himself" in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom when he delivered remarks during the defense's closing arguments in the New York fraud trial against the former president, an ex-prosecutor said on Friday.
Engoron has already found that Trump submitted "fraudulent valuations" for assets that were then used by himself, his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and his real estate company, the Trump Organization, to secure better loans and insurance terms. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated as he is the current GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential election.
On Thursday, a months-long trial to determine how much Trump will pay in damages ended. After the defense gave its closing argument, Trump lawyer Chris Kise said that the former president wanted to speak. Engoron asked Trump if he would agree to "just comment on the law and the facts."
Trump then went into a rant, accusing the trial of being "a political witch hunt" and calling himself "an innocent man." He claimed that he has "been persecuted" by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the civil suit against him, and that Engoron had his "own agenda." Engoron told Kise to "please control your client, before cutting Trump off.
Former New York prosecutor and current civil rights lawyer Charles Coleman Jr. told MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire on Way Too Early on Friday morning that Trump "hung himself" with his rant.
"I guess it was to no one's surprise that Trump burst into that rant yesterday," Lemire said, asking Coleman: "What's your reaction, though, as to what role it could play in the outcome? Did he help or hurt himself?"
Coleman responded: "Well, Jonathan, in the long run, I do think that he hurt himself. I think that what he was trying to do was force the judge into a position where, by denying him an opportunity to speak, he would have created an issue for appeal for himself."
On Wednesday, Engoron decided that Trump would not speak during closing arguments because the former president's lawyers missed a series of extended deadlines, according to emails between Engoron and Kise. But Engoron ended up allowing Trump to deliver some remarks for a couple of minutes on Thursday, which Coleman applauded him for.
"And Judge Engoron basically gave him the rope, and he hung himself, predictably," Coleman told Lemire. "What he ended up doing was basically creating a space where this is one less thing that becomes an appealable issue in the long run. That he might be able to go back and say, 'Look, I was treated unfairly and my rights were abridged in some way, shape, form or fashion.'
"So, kudos for the judge allowing this to happen in the way that it did. It was, I believe, a calculated risk by the bench. He understood that there was a risk that this could happen, but, ultimately, it didn't play a factor in the way Donald Trump wanted it to," he concluded.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign spokesperson, Kise, and Coleman's law firm via email for comment.
Engoron said he will try to make his final decision by January 31, adding that there is "no guarantee" on that deadline. James, who initially sought $250 million from Trump is now asking for $370 million, plus interest. She has also requested that Trump receive a lifetime ban from participating in New York's real estate industry.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
