In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump announced that he will not be taking the witness stand in the $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his company. The announcement came on Sunday in an all-caps, two-part post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump stated, "I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt" and concluded, "I will not be testifying on Monday." He had been scheduled to testify on that day as one of the final defense witnesses in the two-month-long trial, which is now entering its final week of testimony.

The trial revolves around New York Attorney General Letitia James' claims that Trump overvalued his properties and net worth in financial statements to obtain favorable loans from banks. Trump was expected to use his testimony to highlight his company's success and dispute James' allegations.

During a previous appearance as a witness on November 6, Trump made similar claims, attacking James and Judge Arthur Engoron who presided over the case. He referred to James as a "political hack" and criticized Engoron as a "very hostile judge" who ruled against him without knowing anything about him. Trump expressed his intent to appeal Engoron's pretrial finding that he and his company were involved in acts of fraud.

Although Trump had no obligation to testify in his own defense, his son Eric Trump had been called as a witness but backed out of testifying as well. In a social media post, Trump mentioned that he had directed Eric to refrain from testifying, stating, "Eric has already testified, PERFECTLY... there is no reason to waste any more of this Crooked Court's time."

Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, explained that she had advised him against testifying due to a gag order preventing him from criticizing the judge's law clerk, who he believed to be biased against him. However, Trump remained determined to take the stand, believing strongly in voicing his opposition to the proceedings in court.

The decision to forego Trump's testimony came after an accounting expert hired by the defense, Eli Bartov - an accounting professor at New York University, testified that he found no evidence of accounting fraud in the financial statements under scrutiny. Bartov stated that discrepancies between Trump's figures and the lower values from a lender were not indicative of fraud, but rather different definitions of value.

Bartov, the 19th defense witness, concluded his testimony on Friday, making him the final witness in the trial. The AG's office is expected to present two rebuttal witnesses, after which both sides will submit filings to the judge outlining their case. Closing arguments are set for January 11, and Judge Engoron anticipates issuing his ruling within a few weeks thereafter.

The trial, with its twists and turns, has been closely watched as it has reached its climax. The decision by Trump to withhold his testimony adds yet another chapter to the ongoing legal battle between the former president and the New York Attorney General's Office.

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