Donald Trump Admits His Mistake to Judge Engoron

Former President Donald Trump admitted one mistake to Judge Arthur Engoron while speaking during his New York business fraud trial Thursday.

Trump appeared in a New York City courtroom for the closing arguments of the civil business fraud trial, which has been overseen by Engoron. The trial stems from a lawsuit New York Attorney General Letitia James filed, alleging that Trump and top executives at the Trump Organization conspired to increase his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the trial politically motivated. The trial is civil, not criminal, meaning Trump will not face jail time.

Engoron granted the former president permission to speak during the trial, prompting Trump to admit one mistake, reported MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin.

"'This was a political witch hunt; we should receive damages for what they have taken our company through. They have no documents—they have nothing!' The only thing they have, Trump concedes, is the triplex, which was a mistake," Rubin posted to X (formerly Twitter).

One of the allegations made by James is that Trump inflated the size and value of the Trump Tower Triplex. He valued the apartment at $327 million in 2015 and 2016 financial statements based on claims it was 30,000 square feet in size. However, the triplex was 10,996 square feet.

In 2017, Trump's financial statement changed the value of the property, stating it was worth $116.8 million and for the first time revealing it was only 10,996.39 square feet in size.

He said he is "not sure" the dollar amount would have been "that far off" if the valuation were correct, adding that he is an "innocent man" who has been "politically persecuted," Rubin reported.

Trump continued to speak, accusing James of "election interference and arguing she should pay him for the "havoc" done to his company over the case. Engoron urged his attorney Christopher Kise to "control your client," but Trump ended up leaving the courtroom after his comments, reported Rubin.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.

Engoron ruled last year that Trump, his adult sons, their businesses and executives committed fraud and will now decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy claims during the trial.

The trial was headed for lunch, and it remained unclear whether Trump would return after the break.

Trump has repeatedly accused both James and Engoron of treated him unfairly throughout the trial, at several points launching attacks against both the prosecutor and judge. He was not expected to speak during closing arguments after his attorneys missed deadlines.

Update 01/11/24 2:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.