'Control your client': Judge warns lawyers after Trump's courtroom rant
Former President Donald Trump suggested that New York Attorney General Letitia James should have to pay damages for bringing a $250 million fraud lawsuit against him.
During a break in Thursday's closing statements, Trump spoke to reporters outside the courtroom.
"This is a political witch hunt the likes of which nobody has ever seen before," he ranted. "They owe me damages for what they've done."
"We're a very innocent company," he continued. "We did everything right. They have no witness against us other than Michael Cohen, who's a discredited felon. They have no witnesses against us whatsoever. They don't have one piece of paper."
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"It's a disgrace, and they should pay me damages. That's the way it should be. They should be paying me damages. This is a disgraceful situation."
Trump concluded by acknowledging the judge could slap him with harsh penalties.
"I don't know that we're going to get a fair ruling, but everybody knows what I just said. This is a sham, and it's a shame," he remarked.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that Trump interrupted court proceedings to make a similar plea to Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
"Trump began speaking in the courtroom from the defense table, claiming the civil investigation is a 'political witch hunt' and that he should actually receive damages," Collins wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Judge Engoron let Trump continue before then saying he had one minute left. He then cut him off and urged his attorney to 'please control your client.'"