A bomb threat was made at the home of the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York bank fraud trial hours ahead of closing arguments.
Cop cars were dispatched to the Long Island home of Justice Arthur F. Engoron this morning after someone threatened to blow up the residence, reported the Daily Beast. A bomb squad was also on site.
The threat has been perceived by some as a stall tactic to delay the closing arguments of what has been a dramatic and heavily politicized trial.
News came earlier this week that the former president would be barred from making his own closing argument, a decision that further solidified the politician’s view of Engoron as a ‘TRUMP HATING JUDGE,’ as he posted to Truth Social Wednesday evening.
The case has revovled around the claim from New York Attorney General Letitia James that throughout Trump’s real estate career, he has routinely inflated the value of his assets to acquire fraudulent bank loans and insurance policies.
A bomb threat was made at the Long Island home of Justice Arthur Engoron on Thursday morning, hours ahead of the final hearing in the dramatic Trump bank fraud case
Trump, who was in Iowa last night hosting a town hall as his rival Republican candidates debated, is expected to appear in court today
Prior to the start of the trial, some of James’ claims were determined to be true, the New York City-based proceeding is taking place mostly to determine the extent of the claims and how the Republican candidate for president should be punished.
Trump’s New York business empire is on the line as AG James, who has long targeted Trump, his family and their businesses in her pursuits, has asked he and his businesses be fined $370million.
Earlier this week, Engoron rejected Trump’s request to speak during the closing arguments, a plan the Associated Press reports he had orginally approved.
Trump, who was in Iowa last night, is still expected to appear in court.
Engoron initially said Trump could speak but would have to stick to what attorneys say in closing arguments, which includes ‘commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.’
The former president would not be allowed to ‘comment on irrelevant matters’ or ‘deliver a campaign speech.’
He also wouldn’t be allowed to criticize the judge, his staff, Attorney General James, her lawyers or the court system, Engoron wrote, according to the AP.
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise told Engoron that those limitations were unfair and the ex-president could not agree to them.
This prompted Engoron to quash Trump’s plan.
Trump has been a vocal critic of Engoron and James throughout the trial and has carried his frustration with him on the campaign trail.
On Friday, after James asked Engoron to have him pay $370 million – up from $250 million – Trump hammered the decision while on the campaign trail Friday night in Sioux Center, Iowa.
‘So if you don’t mind, I was a little bit angry when I walked in. Did you notice the anger? Maybe not. But the corrupt AG wants $370 million for a fee for what I did and I did nothing wrong. Nothing,’ Trump said. ‘This is weaponization at a level that nobody’s ever seen.’
Later, at his second rally in Mason City, Iowa, Trump picked on James again, but this time called her a ‘big slob in New York.’
Trump is prohibited from trashing court staff in the case, due to a gag order that was upheld by a A New York state appeals court in mid-December, after he posted a picture of Engoron’s law clerk posing with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and falsely claimed she was Schumer’s ‘girlfriend.’
Thursday’s court appearance will mark the second time Trump has had to leave the presidential campaign trail to deal with his legal drama ahead of the first 2024 contest, Monday’s Iowa caucuses.