• Donald Trump is in New York Supreme Court today where closing arguments are underway
  • The judge in Trump’s fraud trial barred him from speaking in his own defense during closing arguments 
  • The case represents a dire threat to Trump’s real estate business and could see him forced to sell off some of his most prized properties, including Trump Tower 

Closing arguments are underway in Donald Trump‘s fraud trial at New York Supreme Court.

A somber looking Trump was seen leaving Trump Tower Thursday morning, keeping his head down and refusing to stop and wave as he normally would.

Outside of the courtroom, Trump spoke to reporters to label the proceedings a ‘witch hunt,’ ‘disgrace’ and ‘election interference at the highest level.’

The case represents a dire threat to Trump’s real estate business and could see him forced to sell off some of his most prized properties, including Trump Tower.

Trump had wanted to make the closing arguments himself but on Wednesday Judge Arthur Engoron banned him from doing so after lawyers were unable to agree that he would stay on topic.

Before the trial had even begun on October 2, Judge Engoron ruled that Trump committed fraud by overvaluing his net worth by up to $2.2 billion to get better rates on bank loans.

The trial has been to determine what the penalty should be and the New York State Attorney General is seeking a $370 million fine in the civil case.

Trump walked into court with his lawyers Christopher Kise and Alina Habba wearing his trademark blue suit and red tie and scowled as he made it to his seat.

Eric Trump was present Thursday and sat in the front row of the public gallery where he said: ‘Hi guys’ to other members of his father’s legal team.

Judge Engoron invited photographers in to take Trump’s photo. The judge, who is known for his sense of humor, joked: ‘If you’re like me, don’t forget to take your glasses off.’

Judge Engoron appeared to hear something in court and added another gag about the photographers.

He said: ‘Lighting them up? Are we going to be shot or something?’

Just before a videographer and several photographers came, Judge Engoron said: ‘I see the usual mixture of anticipation and dread out there.’

Trump stared straight ahead as the photographers took his photo. The judge managed a smile as he was briefly filmed.

Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise began closing arguments Thrusday, saying that ‘if there were a jury in that (jury) box’ then he would be looking at them.

‘Unfortunately my clients don’t have a jury.’

Kise said: ‘The Attorney General is seeking to strip them, according to the papers, from everything.

‘They want to put a person who has been at the heart of the fabric of the commercial real estate industry for 50 years out of business.

‘For what? For nothing.’

Kise said that ‘not one witness’ during a million pages of documents and 44 days of trial said there was fraud apart from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer.

‘We’re going to say a lot about Michael Cohen’, Kise said. ‘This entire case is a manufactured claim to purse a political agenda….(it is) press releases and posturing but no proof at all’

Judge Engoron has barred Trump and his family from serving as directors in the state and ordered some of his most famous buildings to be sold off.

But the ruling has been put on hold until he makes his final ruling on the penalty, and that is expected in a few weeks’ time.

The trial has heard from dozens of witnesses including Trump himself, his sons Don Jr and Eric and his daughter Ivanka, who fought a subpoena forcing her to testify.

Among the properties which allegedly had their value inflated was Trump’s Triplex apartment atop Trump Tower in Manhattan.

That went from $200 million to $327 million, Wallace said. For years Trump claimed it was 30,000 sq ft but in fact it was just 10,000, a change which tripled its value, the court heard.

The point of the fraud was to obtain better interest rates that saved Trump ‘tens of millions of dollars’ every year, Wallace said.

During the trial Judge Engoron has imposed a gagging order on Trump to stop talking about his court clerk after the former President baselessly suggested she had a baby with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat.

But the judge did not bar Trump from making comments just outside the courtroom which he did multiple times a day on the days he has attended.

Trump’s appearances turned the case into a spectacle with streets outside locked down and those in court having to go through two sets of security to get into the courtroom.

Despite all the theatrics Judge Engoron has stated that the case is about the documents, and they do not favor Trump.

In a ruling this week he rejected Trump’s latest request for a directed verdict, or to have the case dismissed, calling Trump’s claims ‘misstatements at best and fraud at worst’.