Donald Trump's civil fraud trial to continue despite request for early verdict
India TodayDonald Trump’s lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. In seeking to short-circuit the case, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued state lawyers had failed to meet “any legal standard” to prove allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. He argued that the Democratic attorney general, in pursuit of a political opponent, was trying to “substitute her judgement for that of the banks and, frankly, for that of someone who has been involved in the real estate industry for 50 years.” Defense lawyer Clifford Robert pressed the judge to dismiss claims against Trump’s elder sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. He said Cohen’s “pathetic performance” undermined the state’s case when he backtracked from his initial testimony that Trump had directed him to boost the value of assets to “whatever number Trump told us to.” Pressed on cross-examination during his Oct. 25 testimony, Cohen conceded that Trump never told him to inflate the numbers on his personal statement — though Cohen later said Trump signalled it indirectly, and “we understood what he wanted.” Robert asked at that point for an immediate directed verdict, which Engoron denied.