Live updates: Latest on closing arguments in Donald Trump's $370 million civil fraud trial

NEW YORK — After his plans to personally give a closing argument didn't square with the judge, lawyers for former President Donald Trump will likely have to make do on their own Thursday as they and the New York Attorney General's Office sum up a months-long civil fraud trial with $370 million on the line.

New York Attorney General Letitia James wants Trump on the hook for nearly all of that $370 million, although his two adult sons, two former business executives, and several entities also face potential liability. If James gets everything she's asked for, Trump will also be hit with a lifetime ban on running a New York business or participating in the New York real estate industry.

Already, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September that the former president fraudulently inflated his financial statements and will lose his New York business certificates — a decision Trump called the "corporate death penalty." An appeals court has put the business certificates order on hold.

Engoron received a bomb threat at his Long Island home early Thursday, a case of apparent "swatting," but authorities found nothing amiss at the scene. Extra security was visible around the courthouse. Trump didn't comment on the bomb threat as he spoke with reporters before entering the courtroom.

The months-long trial has focused on whether Trump and his co-defendants engaged in other fraudulent acts that weren't addressed in Engoron's September ruling, including insurance fraud, and how much they could be ordered to pay at the end of the case.

Trump and three of his children — Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka — all testified under state subpoenas, and Don Jr. also testified for the defense. Trump's former lawyer and current adversary Michael Cohen also took the stand, testifying that Trump tasked him with boosting assets "based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected." Experts testified for both sides about asset values.

'He's just making up a story'

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and now a thorn in his side, was the only witness to support the attorney general's claim that Trump had the intention to defraud, and Cohen isn't credible, Trump lawyer Chris Kise argued Thursday. This is a "serial liar" whose lies are inconsistent with the evidence, Kise said.Cohen testified at trial that he was tasked by Trump "to increase the total assets” on a financial statement by an arbitrary amount Trump had chosen.

"He's just making up a story," Kise said.

[11:15 AM] Bagchi, Aysha

-Aysha Bagchi

Trump lawyer touts his client's brand value

Trump lawyer Chris Kise is delivering closing remarks for the former president. He's arguing that various aspects of Trump's net worth were actually undervalued on his financial statements, and that the value of the Trump brand can't be reported properly on an accounting sheet under "GAAP" — an acronym that stands for a set of generally accepted accounting principles.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has argued that the financial statements greatly inflated the value of Trump's assets, and were used to get unfairly favorable loan terms.

In advance of the closing arguments, Trump's legal team submitted proposals for how Engoron should decide both the facts and the law case. The team said if Trump's brand value is accounted for, he is worth "far more than is reflected" on the statements, and Trump shouldn't have to cough up a penny.

-Aysha Bagchi

Trump: New York fraud case ‘a disgrace,’ full of ‘defects’

Donald Trump blasted the case in comments outside the courtroom and told reporters he still hoped to summarize his arguments despite the judge ruling against him.

Trump called the case “election interference at the highest level” and a “disgrace.” He argued that the case is unconstitutional and unfair because the judge will decide his fate rather than a jury.

“I want to make a summation,” Trump said. “At this point, the judge is not letting me make a summation because I’ll bring up things he doesn’t want to hear.”

Trump said he would hold a news conference in the afternoon, although the time hasn’t been set yet.

“I am hoping to speak to reveal all of the defects of this case, which should have never been brought,” Trump said.

--Bart Jansen

Trump's delay request denied

A lawyer for Trump emailed Engoron Tuesday stating that Trump's mother-in-law passed away and Trump was requesting a delay in the closing arguments until Jan. 24.

"I am sorry to hear the sad news," Engoron responded, while also rejecting the delay request. Every appearance by Trump requires court staff to rearrange their schedules, and a jury trial had even been removed from the courtroom on the day of the planned closing arguments, he explained.

"Despite the fact that his Mother-in-Law, who he was very close to, passed away late last night, President Trump will be speaking tomorrow," Trump's lawyer told the judge Wednesday morning.

The judge reiterated his conditions for Trump speaking at the closing arguments and said the lawyer would have to confirm Trump's agreement "NOW." More than an hour later, the lawyer had still failed to do so, Engoron wrote in an email.

-Aysha Bagchi

Judge presiding over Trump civil fraud trial gets bomb threat

Authorities responded Thursday to a bomb threat at the home of New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, but the incident isn’t expected to delay closing arguments in the case.

“There was a threat. I can confirm a bomb threat,” said Al Baker, a court spokesperson. “As of now we are going forward as scheduled and the court proceedings and closing arguments are going ahead as planned.”

-Bart Jansen

Fights over Trump's speech

Trump has attacked the trial, the attorney general, and the judge on social media and within feet of the courtroom. The case is a "witch hunt," James is a "political hack," and Engoron is a "radical Trump hater," according to the former president.

Engoron stepped in with a limited gag order protecting his staff from attacks after Trump targeted the judge's principal law clerk. The judge later said his office had been "inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages" since the trial began.

After Trump repeatedly veered away from a government lawyer's questions to decry the proceedings when he testified in November, the judge urged Trump's lawyer to "control him if you can" or risk having the former president dismissed early and penalized. Trump ultimately completed his testimony.

Engoron may have wanted to forestall a repeat of that performance when he said he would allow Trump to take the unusual step of making a closing argument Thursday, alongside his attorneys, but only if he would stick to the facts and the law of the case. When Trump's lawyer didn't commit to those terms, Engoron said he assumed Trump wasn't willing to agree and therefore "will not be speaking."

-Aysha Bagchi

When will a ruling be made in Trump's civil fraud trial?

Engoron already ruled Trump liable for fraud and ordered the cancelation of his business certificates to operate in New York state -- a penalty suspended while an appeals court reviews the decision. The trial was largely devoted to determining damages in the case, but additional allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records are also at stake. Engoron has said he expects to rule on those matters by the end of January.

-- Bart Jansen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump fraud trial: Live updates on closing arguments