By Jack Queen and Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A New York judge overseeing a civil fraud trial that could hobble Donald Trump’s business empire reacted skeptically on Thursday to his lawyer’s closing argument that the former U.S. president did nothing wrong because the financial activity at the heart of the case was essentially harmless.
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.
“There does not have to be any evidence of harm,” Engoron told him on the trial’s final day.
Engoron also said he did not find a defense witness to be credible.
Engoron earlier in the day faced a security threat at his suburban home. In the trial, the judge is considering what penalties to impose after earlier ruling that Trump and his company fraudulently manipulated property values.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, is seeking nearly $370 million and a lifetime ban on Trump from the state’s real-estate industry.
Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election.
Shortly before Trump’s legal team concluded its arguments, Alina Habba, another of his lawyers, pointed out that James pledged to scrutinize Trump’s business practices while she was campaigning for office as a Democrat. Engoron said that was not relevant to the case.
The trial’s closing arguments took place in an atmosphere of heightened security after media outlets reported a bomb threat at Engoron’s suburban home. The judge has been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism.
SECURITY ISSUES
Security has been an issue throughout the months-long trial. 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. Trump has been fined $15,000 for twice violating the order.
Most recently, Engoron on Wednesday denied Trump’s bid to deliver his own closing arguments after the former president would not accept ground rules barring him from making a “campaign speech.”
As James arrived at the courthouse, onlookers cheered and chanted, “Thank you, James.” Police stood guard and tightly controlled entrances to the building.
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and criticized the trial as a “witch hunt,” renewed his attacks on James during a break on Thursday.
“She sued me because she wanted the publicity,” Trump said.
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.
Engoron will issue a verdict at a later date without a jury. 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.
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.
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.
Trump admitted to providing inaccurate property valuations during defiant and meandering testimony in November.
Kise argued on Thursday that any alleged manipulation was harmless. Kise said banks and insurers would have been eager to do business with Trump even if his net worth was far lower, Kise said.
“He’s a whale client,” Kise said.
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. Kise on Thursday called Cohen a “serial liar.”
A lawyer for Trump’s adult children Donald Jr. and Eric, who are also defendants in the case, told the judge there was no evidence that they were significantly involved in the financial statements.
“This is a press release wrapped up in a lawsuit,” lawyer Clifford Robert said of the case brought by the attorney general.
Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will be the first to decide their preferred nominee this month to face Biden. Trump’s legal troubles have not diminished his commanding lead over party rivals.
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. All could go to trial before this year’s election.
(Reporting by Jack Queen; additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Susan Heavey; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Will Dunham and Daniel Wallis and Chizu Nomiyama)
