Trump speaks out in court against fraud trial judge during closing arguments

Donald Trump slammed the months-long fraud case against him and the attorney general suing him in a rapid, breathless statement from the defence table inside a Manhattan courtroom where his attorneys delivered closing arguments in the case.

The judge presiding over the civil case in New York County Supreme Court had previously denied the former president from personally addressing the court, after his lawyers failed to agree to limiting his remarks to case itself without lashing out and using the moment for a campaign stunt.

Judge Arthur Engoron gave him another chance on Thursday, if he could promise to stick to relevant facts of the case. Hours earlier, after the former president raged against the case on his Truth Social, police responded to a swatting attempt at the judge’s home.

The former couldn’t resist seizing the brief moment to tie the case to what he sees is a conspiracy against him as he seeks the Republican nomination for president.

“Well I think, your honor, I think the case goes outside the facts. The financial statements were perfect,” Mr Trump told the judge while sitting at the defence table. “The banks got all their money back.”

He claimed “there was not one witness who went against us” and called the case “a political witch hunt.”

“We should receive damages for what we’ve gone through,” he said, speaking in a winding, unbroken sentence.

“What happened here, sir, is a fraud on me,” he said.

He repeated his claim that the case is politically motivated “election interference”, alluding to a conspiracy theory that the lawsuit and mountain of litigation against him are e Democratic-led threat to keep the likely Republican nominee for the presidency out of the White House.

“But in particular the person in