After hearing from 40 witnesses over the span of 2½ months, Judge Arthur Engoron expressed a bittersweet sentiment as he presided over the final day of testimony in Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial. "In a strange way, I'm gonna miss this trial," he remarked on Wednesday.

The case, brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that Trump inflated his wealth on financial statements to obtain loans and secure deals. While the judge has already ruled that Trump is liable for making fraudulent statements, additional claims and a potential final penalty are yet to be determined. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the financial documents actually understated his net worth and included safeguards that should protect him from liability.

Throughout the trial, new details emerged regarding Trump's finances, his interactions with lenders, his failed NFL ownership aspirations, and the questionable mathematics involved in the case, whether due to mistakes or intentional actions.

The trial also provided insights into Trump's political and legal strategies as his court appearances increasingly coincided with his presidential campaign commitments. His first criminal trial is scheduled for March.

Interestingly, despite the ongoing legal proceedings, Trump's standing in the Republican presidential race remains strong. He continues to hold a significant lead in both national and early-state polls. In fact, his position has strengthened since his initial criminal indictment in March.

While Trump was not obligated to attend court except for the day he testified, he made a point of showing up on eight separate occasions as a spectator. On each visit, he turned his appearance into a de facto campaign stop, voicing his grievances about being targeted. This theme persisted during his defiant testimony on November 6, leading a frustrated Judge Engoron to warn against turning the trial into a political rally.

Curiously, Trump did not attend court last year when his company was convicted of tax fraud, nor did he appear for a civil trial in which he was found liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll, resulting in a $5 million judgment against him.

When questioned about his presence at the fraud trial, Trump explained, "Because I want to point it out to the press, how corrupt it is." However, outside of the courtroom, he frequently insulted the judge and even targeted Engoron's chief law clerk. Trump's false and demeaning comment about the clerk's personal life on social media prompted Engoron to impose a gag order prohibiting trial participants from making further remarks about court staff. The judge later fined Trump $15,000 for repeatedly violating the order.

A significant portion of the trial focused on the substantial loans, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, that Deutsche Bank provided to Trump's company, starting in 2011.

Closing arguments in the civil business fraud trial are scheduled for early January, signaling the upcoming conclusion of this high-profile legal battle.

Note: The generated article is fictional and does not represent real events.