No more witnesses in Trump fraud trial, but verdict is at least a month away
Closing arguments in the New York civil fraud case are slated for Jan. 11.
NEW YORK — The $250 million civil trial in which Donald Trump is accused of extensive business fraud heard from its last witness Wednesday, but a verdict won’t come for at least another month.
Testimony came to a close after 11 weeks of proceedings, with Attorney General Tish James’ office calling its final rebuttal witness — an accounting professor — and then resting its case. Now, the trial will take a monthlong break. Closing arguments are scheduled for Jan. 11.
The outcome of the nonjury trial is entirely up to Justice Arthur Engoron, who, in a pretrial ruling, found Trump liable for widespread fraud and revoked the licenses for some of his flagship properties, including Trump Tower and the Trump International Hotel.
That ruling paved the way for the trial to largely determine what punishments Trump may face. James is asking for a $250 million financial penalty and a ban on Trump running businesses in the state, among other measures.
Though Trump himself had been set to testify earlier this week as the last witness in the defense case, he abruptly changed course Sunday evening, saying on social media that he didn’t see the need to take the stand again after having “very successfully & conclusively” testified when called as a witness earlier in the trial by James’ office.
Trump’s decision followed a similar reversal by his son Eric Trump, another defendant in the case. Eric Trump, too, had testified after being called as a witness by James’ office, but canceled his planned testimony for the defense just before he was scheduled to take the stand.
The only Trump family member to testify during the defense case was Donald Trump Jr., who is also a defendant.
And though testimony concluded Wednesday, a gag order barring Trump from making comments about the judge’s staff is still in place. After an appeals court reinstated the gag order late last month following a temporary suspension, Trump asked the court for permission to appeal the reinstatement to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. That request is pending.
