Donald Trump defies judge, addresses civil fraud trial after judge receives bomb threat

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : Kise, praising Trump as "part of the fabric of the commercial real estate industry" for a half-century, pointed to Trump's testimony that he intended lenders to do their own research and vetting after receiving his financial statements.
46% : Trump returned to court as a spectator Thursday despite the death of his mother in-law, Amalija Knavs, and the launch of the presidential primary season Monday with the Iowa caucus.
46% : Thursday's arguments were part of a busy legal and political stretch for Trump.
43% : State lawyers say that by making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms from banks, saving him at least $168 million.
43% : Last month, in a ruling denying a defense bid for an early verdict, the judge signaled he's inclined to find Trump and his co-defendants liable on at least some claims.
42% : On Wednesday, Engoron had nixed an unusual plan by Trump to deliver his own closing remarks in the courtroom, in addition to summations from his legal team, after lawyers for the former president would not agree to the judge's demand that he stick to "relevant" matters.
39% : "That left the last words to the lawyers in a trial over allegations that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements he provided to banks, insurance companies and others.
37% : Among them, Engoron warned that Trump couldn't use his closing remarks to "deliver a campaign speech" or use the opportunity to impugn the judge and his staff.
34% : Trump has pleaded not guilty.
31% : "After about six minutes, Judge Arthur Engoron -- who had denied Trump permission earlier to give a closing statement at the trial -- cut him off and recessed for lunch.
29% : Trump says he did nothing wrong.
28% : In a pretrial ruling, he found that Trump had committed years of fraud by lying about his riches on financial statements with tricks like claiming his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size.
27% : Besides monetary damages, James wants Trump and his co-defendants barred from doing business in New York.
23% : By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) -- Barred from giving a formal closing argument, Donald Trump still got a brief chance to speak in court at the conclusion of his New York civil trial Thursday, calling the proceedings "a fraud on me" before the judge cut him off.
22% : Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly disparaged Engoron, accusing him in a social media post Wednesday night of working closely with the New York attorney general "to screw me.""At this moment the judge is not letting me make the summation because I'll bring up things he doesn't want to hear," Trump said as he walked into the courtroom, characterizing the decision as "political interference.
19% : Since the trial began Oct. 2, Trump has gone to court nine times to observe, testify and complain to TV cameras about the case, which he called a "witch hunt and a disgrace.
17% : In New York, James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that gives the state attorney general broad power to investigate allegations of persistent fraud in business dealings.

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