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Closing arguments are due to begin on January 11 in Donald Trump's New York fraud trial.
Trump is expected to face a hefty fine in the case, which he has already partially lost after Judge Arthur Engoron found that he had fraudulently inflated the value of his assets to obtain favorable bank loans.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked Engoron to impose fines of hundreds of millions of dollars on Trump and his company, the Trump Organization. Last month she said prosecutors were looking forward to presenting their closing argument, adding: "I'm confident in our case and that justice will prevail. No matter how powerful you think you are, or how much money you think you have, everyone is equal under the law, even Donald Trump."
So far, Engoron has exceeded James' requests. In a summary judgment before the trial began in full, Engoron agreed to strip the business licenses from key Trump companies that control key Trump properties, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Engoron has said he hopes to have a final decision in the nonjury case by the end of the month.
Trump, his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the $250 million civil fraud trial brought by James, who is accusing the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills.
In September, Engoron ruled that Trump, his adult sons, their businesses and executives committed fraud in their property valuations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims.
The former president denies any wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly claimed the litigation was politically motivated.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team by email on Tuesday for comment.
If courtroom exchanges between Engoron and Trump are any indication of how the case will be decided, it doesn't augur well for the former president.
While Trump was testifying on November 6, he accused Engoron of being among the Trump haters who were out to get him.
"You and every other Democrat district attorney, A.G., and U.S. attorneys were coming at me from 15 different sides, all Democrats, all haters," Trump told Engoron.
Engoron accused Trump of making speeches from the witness stand and threatened to dismiss him as a witness.
Trump's chief attorney, Christopher Kise, stood up and told the judge: "With this witness, it's far more efficient to listen and take it all in."
Engoron snapped at Kise: "No! I'm not here to hear what he has to say. I'm here to hear him answer questions. Sit down!"
Engoron then told Kise that he'd better rein in Trump's speechmaking.
"We got another speech," Engoron said. "I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can't, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can."
While Trump was compelled to be a witness for Letitita James, he announced in December that he would not give defense evidence. On Sunday, December 10 he announced on the social media site Truth Social that he would not testify for the defense the next day.
"I will not be testifying on Monday," Mr Trump wrote, less than 20 hours before he was to give evidence.
"I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say," Trump wrote.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more