Closing arguments concludes in Trump civil fraud trial in New York

Closing arguments were given today in a civil fraud trial that alleges former President Donald Trump lied about his wealth. A final decision from New York Judge Arthur Engoron is expected in the coming weeks.

Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are accused of knowingly committing fraud by submitting financial statements that inflated the value of their properties and other assets. The lawsuit alleges that from 2011 to 2021, Donald Trump and his organization created more than 200 false valuations to inflate his net worth by billions of dollars with the goal of getting better business, insurance and banking deals.

New York Attorney General Letitia James' legal team is urging the judge to impose a $370 million penalty, up from an original $250 million, and to limit Trump's ability to conduct business in New York state.

In closing statements, Trump's legal team focused on two arguments: Trump and his associates had nothing to do with the creation of the fraudulent statement condition and, regardless, there is no victim.

The former president was present in the morning, arriving after campaigning in Iowa. Despite originally saying he wouldn't, Engoron allowed Trump to speak for five minutes during which Trump argued the trial was a political witch hunt. He reiterated this claim during a press conference Thursday afternoon.

"They don't have any evidence against us," Trump said. "Millions and millions of pages, years of litigation and all politically motivated."

James' legal team laid out how they believe the fraud was "central to the operations of the Trump Organization's business" and claimed that the money he got through low interest rates even helped fund Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

"This case has