NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Donald Trump鈥檚 lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president鈥檚 real estate empire.
Judge Arthur Engoron didn't rule on the request, but indicated the trial will go on as scheduled Monday with Donald Trump Jr. returning to the stand as the first defense witness.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers had asked Engoron to cut the trial short and issue a verdict clearing Trump, his company and top executives including Trump Jr. of wrongdoing.
They made the request halfway through the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James鈥 lawsuit, arguing the state had failed to prove its case. James alleges Trump and other defendants duped banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements.
Engoron said the defense's arguments seeking what's known as a directed verdict were 鈥渢aken under advisement." He did not address them further when he returned to court Thursday afternoon to rule on another matter.
In that ruling, Engoron gave Trump's lawyers a victory, allowing them to call several expert witnesses in an attempt to refute testimony that Trump鈥檚 financial statements afforded him better loan terms, insurance premiums and were a factor in dealmaking.
The judge, who鈥檚 had a history of ruling against Trump, has signaled interest in seeing the trial through to its conclusion, asking defense lawyers for witness schedules and pegging closing arguments close to Christmas.
In seeking to short-circuit the case, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued state lawyers had failed to meet 鈥渁ny legal standard鈥 to prove .
鈥淭here鈥檚 no victim. There鈥檚 no complainant. There鈥檚 no injury. All of that is established now by the evidence,鈥 Kise argued.
State lawyer Kevin Wallace responded that there was no reason to end the trial, saying the evidence is 鈥渕ore than sufficient to continue to final verdict.鈥
Trump, on the stand Monday between barbs for his adversaries, doing business with him. If anything, he testified, his financial statements lowballed his wealth and the value of assets such as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Kise implored Engoron to give special weight to Trump's testimony, citing the ex-president's decades of experience as a real estate developer. When talking real estate, 鈥渋f my choices were Donald Trump or Attorney General James, respectfully, I would go with Donald Trump,鈥 Kise said.
He argued that the Democratic attorney general, in pursuit of a political opponent, was trying to 鈥渟ubstitute her judgment for that of the banks and, frankly, for that of someone who has been involved in the real estate industry for 50 years.鈥
Defense lawyer Clifford Robert pressed the judge to dismiss claims against . The attorney argued that state lawyers had failed to prove that the sons, whom Trump appointed to run his company when he went to the White House in 2017, worked on the ex-president鈥檚 financial statements.
The sons, who signed off on some documents attesting to their father鈥檚 wherewithal, testified that they trusted accountants and lawyers for assurance the papers were accurate. Robert said they 鈥渁cted appropriately鈥 in doing so.
鈥淢y clients have been dragged into what is essentially a fight between the attorney general and their father, but here we are," Robert said. "The time has come that we need to put an end to it.鈥
Wallace countered that Trump and his sons each signed documents saying that they were responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, which Engoron has already ruled were false and misleading.
Thursday's arguments came a day after as the state鈥檚 last witness. She had unsuccessfully fought a subpoena.
Directed verdict requests are common in civil trials, though they're somewhat infrequently granted. In Trump鈥檚 trial, Engoron is deciding the outcome, rather than a jury.
Before the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump, his company and other defendants and the value of assets on his financial statements, which were used to obtain loans and make deals.
Engoron鈥檚 pretrial fraud ruling came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is for now.
Also Thursday, Trump鈥檚 lawyers renewed their call to halt the trial at least until the appeals court makes a final decision on Engoron鈥檚 fraud finding. In court papers, they wrote that the judge had shown a 鈥済ross and open disregard for the integrity of the process" and was causing 鈥渕ounting irreparable harm" for the defendants.
The state rested its case Wednesday after six weeks of testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. James is seeking what she says is more than $300 million in ill-gotten gains and a ban on the defendants from doing business in New York.
. When Trump Jr. returns to the stand on Monday, he鈥檒l be questioned by defense lawyers including his own. Trump company executives, outside accountants who worked on Trump鈥檚 financial statements and bank executives who worked on his loans also have testified as state witnesses.
Kise emphasized that lender to the asset values listed on Trump鈥檚 financial statements, giving 鈥渉aircuts鈥 to the estimates for Trump Tower and other properties, and decided to lend him hundreds of millions of dollars anyway. Adjustments amounted to $2 billion in some years, documents showed.
Kise also attacked Trump lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen鈥檚 credibility. He said Cohen's 鈥減athetic performance" undermined the state鈥檚 case when he backtracked from his to 鈥渨hatever number Trump told us to.鈥
Pressed on cross-examination during his Oct. 25 testimony, on his personal statement 鈥 though Cohen later said Trump signaled it indirectly, and 鈥渨e understood what he wanted.鈥 Robert asked at that point for an immediate directed verdict, which Engoron denied.
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