Judge skeptical of defense as Trump fraud trial draws to a close

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : Throughout trial, the state's lawyers sought to show that Trump consistently overvalued many of the towers, golf clubs and other assets that burnished his reputation as a business mogul before he entered politics.
47% : Kise said banks and insurers would have been eager to do business with Trump even if his net worth was far lower, Kise said.
43% : "She sued me because she wanted the publicity," Trump said.
40% : Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election.
39% : Trump has appealed Engoron's prior order and is almost certain to appeal any verdict against him, which could delay a final judgment for many months to a year or more.
32% : Unlike her brothers, Ivanka Trump is not a defendant.
26% : "Trump's adult children Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka Trump also testified, saying they had little involvement in that aspect of the business.
23% : New York Attorney General Letitia James, an elected Democrat who brought the case, is seeking nearly $370 million and a lifetime ban on Trump from the state's real-estate industry.
23% : Trump has been fined $15,000 for twice violating the order.
19% : Engoron's top staffer faced threats after Trump criticized her as politically biased, prompting the judge to issue a gag order barring him from disparaging court staff.
17% : Trump admitted to providing inaccurate property valuations during defiant and meandering testimony in November.
15% : In the trial, the judge is considering what penalties to impose after earlier ruling that Trump and his company fraudulently manipulated property values.
15% : Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and criticized the trial as a "witch hunt," renewed his attacks on James during a break on Thursday.
12% : As Trump looked on from the defense table, Justice Arthur Engoron challenged lawyer Christoper Kise's argument that Trump should not be penalized for allegedly manipulating the value of his properties because lenders and insurers that did business with him still turned a profit.
12% : He found Trump liable for fraud in September, leaving the trial to focus largely on how much money Trump should surrender as ill-gotten gains.
12% : Trump also has pleaded not guilty in four criminal prosecutions, including two that charge him with unlawfully trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.
10% : The trial earlier featured a tense face-to-face reunion between Trump and his onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who testified that Trump directed him to manipulate asset values.
9% : Trump has complained that the trial is interfering with his presidential campaign but has used occasional court appearances to argue that he is the victim of political persecution.

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