New York, Jan 10 (EFE) – Former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021) will not speak on Thursday during the closing arguments of his fraud trial in New York, after his lawyers did not respond to an order from the judge limiting Trump’s interventions.
Trump, who faces a fine of up to $370 million and a lifetime ban from New York real estate, had planned to address the judge before Thursday’s sentencing.
After extending the deadline for a response, Judge Arthur Engoron wrote Wednesday afternoon that Trump will not be allowed to speak.
“Not having heard from you by the third extended deadline (noon today) I assume that Mr. Trump will not agree to the reasonable, lawful limits as a precondition to giving a closing argument above and beyond those given by his attorneys, and that, therefore, he will not be speaking in court tomorrow,” the judge wrote in an email to Trump’s attorneys.
EFE tried to contact the former president’s lawyers and his campaign team to get more details about his claim, but did not receive a response.
In the case, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization fraudulently inflated their reported net worth and misrepresented the value of real estate assets to get favorable loans and other financial advantages.
Prosecutors scored a first victory before the trial began, when Engoron summarily ruled that Trump and the other defendants were responsible for the ongoing fraud at the Trump Organization and issued an order revoking their business licenses.
However, the defendants have tried to reverse this decision. EFE
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