美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普在纽约受审2 . 5亿美元的民事诉讼这可能会改变帮助特朗普入主白宫的个人财富和房地产帝国。

特朗普，他的儿子们埃里克·特朗普和小唐纳德·特朗普。，以及特朗普公司的其他高管被纽约司法部长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯(Letitia James)指控参与了一项长达十年的计划，在该计划中，他们使用“大量欺诈和虚假陈述行为”来夸大特朗普的净资产，以获得更优惠的贷款条款。该案件的法官做出裁决后，审判就开始了部分简易判决特朗普提交了对其资产的“欺诈性估值”，让审判来决定其他行动以及被告应该受到的惩罚(如果有的话)。

这位前总统否认了所有不当行为，他的律师辩称，特朗普所谓的虚高估值是他商业技巧的产物。

消息人士称，特朗普打算自己关闭一部分

熟悉前总统策略的消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，前总统特朗普打算在周四纽约民事欺诈审判结束时亲自发表辩护的部分结案陈词。

该案的被告——特朗普、他的两个长子和两名前特朗普组织高管——由三名主要律师Christopher Kise、Clifford Robert和Alina Habba代理。但消息人士称，特朗普本人决定发表部分闭幕词。

消息人士警告说，辩方的结案陈词计划仍不确定。

前11周的审判一直在曼哈顿法庭进行，目前该法庭正被用于另一场备受瞩目的审判，涉及纽约总检察长起诉全国步枪协会的案件该案的法官告诉陪审员，审判将于本周暂时转移到另一个法庭，以适应特朗普的民事审判。

纽约AG寻求3.7亿美元罚款，纽约房地产禁令针对特朗普

纽约总检察长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯在庭审结束前一周提交的书面陈述中，要求该案法官罚款超过3.7亿美元交出詹姆斯所说的十年欺诈性商业行为的利润，并终身禁止特朗普参与纽约房地产业。

3.7亿美元罚款外加9%年息的要求，比詹姆斯的要求大幅提高最初的归还请求总计约2 . 5亿美元。

要求罚款的最大一部分来自特朗普组织使用涉嫌欺诈的财务报表获得的商业贷款。根据专家证词，詹姆斯认为特朗普让他的贷款人付出了168，040，168美元，如果特朗普获得与其资产实际价值相应的适当利率，这些银行本来会赚到这笔钱。

在他们的辩护文件中，特朗普的律师称司法部长的理论“存在根本缺陷”，称“没有贷款人作证说，如果他们知道特朗普的错误陈述，他们会采取不同的做法，而詹姆斯试图用专家证词来填补这一证据空白，”特朗普的律师说。

特朗普的律师补充说，即使司法部长证明特朗普的一些利润是不义之财，他们也缺乏纽约执行法63(12)规定的要求没收的权力。

审判的终结辩论定于1月11日进行。

在激烈的裁决中，法官否认了特朗普的定向裁决动议

法官亚瑟·恩戈伦否认了唐纳德·特朗普的指控最近的动作要求直接判决来结束他的民事欺诈案。

在激烈的裁决中，法官不仅驳回了动议，还选择解释他在审判中看到的特朗普许多论点的缺陷。

针对国防会计专家埃利·巴托夫的证词，特朗普自豪地反复宣布发现“没有会计欺诈恩戈伦断然否定了巴托夫的发现，说他因为“顽固地试图证明每一个错误的陈述”而失去了可信度。"

“巴托夫是一名终身教授，但他的证词所证明的是，只要100万美元左右，一些专家就会说你想让他们说的任何话，”恩戈伦写道。

法官还驳回了特朗普律师的说法，即任何财务虚假陈述都超出了案件的诉讼时效。

“结算并不是未来错误陈述的免罪卡。63(12)所要求的只是在商业中使用的虚假陈述;恩戈伦写道:“主题财务报表完全符合这个定义。

恩戈伦还表示，他不接受特朗普的观点，即在此案中，因非法所得对前总统罚款是不值得的，因为他的贷款人很高兴与交易有关。

“即时放贷者赚了数百万美元，并对交易感到满意，这并不意味着他们不会因为以低于正常水平的利率放贷而受损，”他写道。

恩戈伦称特朗普的说法“往好里说是错报，往坏里说是欺诈”，他写道，“正如这场审判中令人作呕的阐述，估值可以基于以不同方式分析的不同标准。但谎言终归是谎言。”

法官在结束裁决时提醒双方，本案的结案陈词日期目前定在1月11日。

纽约AG律师说，特朗普的案子不像美酒一样陈年

纽约总检察长的律师阿瑟·恩戈伦法官在一封信中说，唐纳德·特朗普最近要求对此案进行直接裁决，只不过是“一种政治噱头，旨在为特朗普先生、他的共同被告及其律师提供新闻发布会、真相社交帖子和有线电视新闻露面的原声报道。”

特朗普的律师周五提出了他们的第五项动议因为缺乏证据，他要求直接判决来结束这个案子，恩戈伦早些时候说他肯定会否认这一点。法官已经驳回了特朗普之前提出的所有四项直接裁决动议。

州检察官安德鲁·阿梅尔在周一给法官的信中写道:“与上好的波尔多葡萄酒不同，被告的定向裁决案件不会随着时间的推移而改善。”

Amer还认为，鉴于审判时提供的证据，特朗普的要求是不合理的，他说，“最低效的专家团队的任何证词都不能改变分析。"

“被告再一次依靠法院已经驳回的论据‘呼啸而过’，”Amer说，部分指的是Engoron的预审部分简易判决裁决，他发现特朗普使用欺诈性声明开展业务。

Trump fraud trial: Trump intends to deliver part of closing argument himself, say sources

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a$250 million civil lawsuitthat could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.

Trump, his sonsEric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in apartial summary judgmentthat Trump had submitted "fraudulent valuations" for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.

The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump's alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.

Trump intends to deliver part of closing himself, say sources

Former President Trump intends to personally deliver part of the defense's closing argument at the conclusion of his civil fraud trial in New York on Thursday, sources familiar with the former president's strategy tell ABC News.

The defendants in the case -- Trump, his two eldest sons and two former Trump Organization executives -- are represented by three primary attorneys, Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba. But sources say Trump himself is determined to deliver a portion of the closing statement.

The sources cautioned that plans for the defense's closing argument remain fluid.

The Manhattan courtroom where the trial has been held during its first 11 weeks is currently in use for another high-profile trial involving the New York attorney general'scase against the National Rifle Association, and the judge in that case told jurors that trial would temporarily move to a different courtroom this week to accommodate Trump's civil trial.

NY AG seeks $370M fine, NY real estate ban against Trump

New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a written brief filed a week before the trial's closing arguments, asked the judge in the case tofine Trump over $370 millionto disgorge profits from what James says is a decade of fraudulent business conduct, and to bar Trump for life from participating in the New York real estate industry.

The request for a $370 million fine, plus 9% annual interest, is a sharp increase from James'initial request for disgorgementtotaling roughly $250 million.

The largest portion of the requested fine stems from the business loans the Trump Organization obtained using allegedly fraudulent financial statements. Based on expert testimony, James argued that Trump cost his lenders $168,040,168, which the banks would have made if Trump was given the appropriate interest rate corresponding to the actual value of his assets.

In their defense filing, Trump's lawyers called the attorney general's theory for disgorgement "fundamentally flawed, saying that "No lenders testified that they would have done anything differently had they known about Trump's misstatements, and James attempted to fill that evidentiary void with expert testimony, according to Trump's lawyers.

Trump's lawyers added that even if the attorney general proved that some of Trump's profits were ill-gotten, they lack the authority under New York Executive Law 63(12) to request the disgorgement.

Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for Jan. 11.

In blistering ruling, judge denies Trump's motion for directed verdict

Judge Arthur Engoron has denied Donald Trump'smost recent motionfor a directed verdict to end his civil fraud trial.

In a blistering ruling, the judge not only denied the motion but also opted to explain the flaws he sees in many of Trump's arguments at trial.

Addressing the testimony of defense accounting expert Eli Bartov, who Trump proudly and repeatedly declared found "no accounting fraudof any kind," Engoron flatly dismissed Bartov's findings by saying he lost credibility by "doggedly attempting to justify every misstatement."

"Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say," Engoron wrote.

The judge also rejected assertions from Trump's lawyers that any financial misstatements are beyond the case's statute of limitations.

"Closing is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for future misstatements. All that §63(12) requires is a false statement used in business; the subject financial statements fit that definition 'to a T,'" Engoron wrote.

Engoron also suggested he didn't buy Trump's argument that fining the former president for ill-gotten gains was not merited in the case becausehis lenders were happywith the transactions.

"That the instant lenders made millions of dollars and were happy with the transactions does not mean that they were not damaged by lending at lower interest rates than they otherwise would have," he wrote.

Calling Trump's claims "misstatements at best and fraud at worst," Engoron wrote that "Valuations, as elucidated ad nauseum in this trial, can be based on different criteria analyzed in different ways. But a lie is still a lie."

The judge ended his ruling by reminding the parties about the date for closing arguments in the case, currently set for Jan. 11.

Trump's case does not age like fine wine, NY AG lawyer says

In a letter the Judge Arthur Engoron, a lawyer for the New York attorney general said Donald Trump's most recent request for a directed verdict in the case is nothing more than a "political stunt designed to provide Mr. Trump, his co-defendants, and their counsel with sound bites for press conferences, Truth Social posts, and cable news appearances."

Trump's lawyers on Fridaymade their fifth motionfor a directed verdict to end the case for lack of evidence, which Engoron earlier said he was all but certain to deny. The judge has rejected all four of Trump's previous motions for a directed verdict.

"Unlike a fine Bordeaux, Defendants' case for a directed verdict does not improve with age," state attorney Andrew Amer wrote in Monday's letter to the judge.

Amer also argued that Trump's request was not merited given the evidence presented at trial, saying that "Nor does any of the testimony from the most ineffective team of experts that Defendants' money can buy change the analysis."

"Defendants are once again 'whistling past the graveyard' by relying on arguments the Court has already rejected," Amer said, referring in part to Engoron's pretrialpartial summary judgmentruling, in which he found that Trump used fraudulent statements to conduct business.