along with alan weiss, the former cfo. this investigation started when michael cohen testified before congress in 2019. the attorney generals office has been clear about that, so they were focusing on his credibility because during his testimony initially he said trump directed him, and then he walked back and said it wasn t a directive, that it was known as an inference that trump gives. trump s sons are also on trial here, eric trump is in the courtroom today along with the trump advisor boris epstein, he was sitting beside him. their attorneys also had a quick shot of the end, and they also said there was no evidence against their clients. the legal proceeding very much a political event. they started their argument that this is a political motivated case, and then trump argued at the end this is the same thing. boris we re gonna address the cameras after that monologue. as we understand it, he will give a public statement at about 2:30 pm, so at some point once this wraps up
preconditions set by judge engoron. trump has done most of these things just outside the courtroom, literally every time he has appeared at this trial, that was again the case this morning. we are going to find out what the former president is saying in court right now. cameras are not allowed in that room, we are expecting he will address the courtroom from outside once this wraps up later today. as for what the next step looks like, remember there s no jury in this case. no deliberations. after closing arguments, we re gonna hear judge r. and grown resume the case, and then he will rule by a written ruling that he says could come as early as the end of the month. and then of course come the appeals that trump and his team have promised. let s get the latest from inside the courtroom now with cnn s paula reid, she s live outside the courtroom forest. paula, a live bit of a surprise that the judge would allow donald trump to address the court. nothing is surprising here, boris, but t
for being with us. what did you think about south africa s argument today? i think south africa made a very powerful argument at the international court of justice following the prior case, las tablas cases like versus myanmar. it should find that south africa s claims are possible, there is a direct link between south africa s claims and the measures that it is seeking. that those measures are urgently needed to prevent a rubble harm to palestinian civilians. i also think south africa made a powerful moral arguments that the court should follow the law establish my prior cases without fear or favor, even though this is a very controversial case with high stakes in the court is likely to face criticism, even condemnation should they rule in south africa s favor. we ll talk of those measures and just a moment. i do want to talk about what israel is saying, which is this
he is correct about that. he s not going to give up that opportunity. let s go back to paula reid who is at the courthouse, and paula, obviously there are many cases involving donald trump. this one, though, in particular really gets to the heart of who donald trump purports to be, which is a shrewd businessman. and fraud. he s committed fraud, the judges said. it s really just an issue here of how extreme it is. and that s the question. there is also the attorney general trying to stop him from being able to do business in new york. the threat, in a way, to his identity if that s the case, what do you think so far about their interaction that you re seeing with the judge about whether that is really a possibility? this case is so personal to former president trump, because as you said this speaks to the identity that he s put forward four decades as a very successful and savvy commercial real estate mogul.
president trump is in a courtroom in new york, speaking. no cameras in this courtroom, but as we understand it he is going on a bit of a monologue right now. we are going to have the latest details on that at these closing arguments in his new york civil fraud trial, with four days to go before the iowa caucuses trump foregoing the campaign trial trail, i should say, again choosing to transform the legal appearance into a de facto campaign stop, and doing it as we speak. right now that is part of the defense process wrapping up their argument, but the day started with a swatting call at judge arthur engoron s home. judge engoron didn t address the news of that from court today paces threats or swatting incidents. now to the case itself. judge engoron is already