Donald Trump unexpectedly spoke in his own defense Thursday as his New York civil fraud trial unfolded on its final day. His remarks came just hours after authorities responded to a bomb threat at the home of the judge who initially moved this week to prevent the former president from delivering his own closing statements.

Authorities responded to the threat at Judge Arthur Engoron's home on Long Island, a court official said. The proceedings were not delayed. 

At a press conference after leaving the courthouse, Trump ignored questions from reporters about the bomb threat. Instead, he spoke for ten minutes attacking Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James and accusing President Joe Biden, who has no say over state-level prosecutions, of orchestrating his legal troubles.

“She's a political hack, the attorney general, and the judge is obviously extremely friendly with the group,” Trump said. “My legal issues, every one of them, every one -- civil and the criminal ones -- are all set up by Joe Biden, crooked Joe Biden. This is something that's never happened in this country. “

He also dismissed concerns about his lawyers in his federal election conspiracy trial making the argument that presidential immunity stretches as far as allowing a president to use SEAL Team Six to assassinate political rivals.

“You're talking about a totally different case,” Trump said. “If a president of the United States does not have immunity, he'll be totally ineffective, because he won't be able to do anything.”

Earlier on Thursday, after two of Trump's lawyers had delivered traditional closing arguments Thursday, one of them, Christopher Kise, asked the judge again whether Trump could speak. Engoron asked Trump whether he would abide by the guidelines he had laid out earlier, which included not trying to introduce new evidence or making a campaign speech.

Trump then launched into his remarks.

“This is a fraud on me. What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me," Trump said. He later accused the judge of not listening to him. “I know this is boring to you.”

“Control your client,” Engoron warned Kise.

Engoron then told Trump he had a minute left, and then adjourned for lunch.

At 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, hours before the trial's final day was set to begin, Nassau County police said they responded to a "swatting incident" at Engoron's Great Neck home. Nothing amiss was found at the location, officials said.

The false report came days after a fake emergency call reporting a shooting at the home of the judge overseeing Trump's Capitol attack criminal case in Washington, D.C. The two incidents follow a spate of similar false reports at the homes of public officials in recent days.

Taking the bench a few minutes late, Engoron made no mention of the incident at his home.

The 2024 GOP presidential primary’s frontrunner accused Engoron of having his “own agenda” and proclaimed his innocence. The trial centers on allegations that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements he provided to banks, insurance companies and others.

“I’m being persecuted by someone running for office and I think you have to go outside the bounds,” Trump said, arguing he should receive financial damages and boasting of the buildings he built in New York City as well as his company.

Already in a pretrial ruling, Engoron found that Trump had committed years of fraud by lying about his riches on financial statements with tricks like claiming his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size.

The trial involves six undecided claims, including allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. Besides monetary damages, James wants Trump and his co-defendants barred from doing business in New York.

Trump has repeatedly disparaged Engoron and James in the case, accusing the judge in a social media post Wednesday night of working closely with the New York attorney general "to screw me."

"At this moment the judge is not letting me make the summation because I'll bring up things he doesn't want to hear," Trump said as he walked into the courtroom, characterizing the decision as "political interference."

"This is a case that never should have been brought," he said.

He attempted to make the case that the case against him is "political interference" and "something that shouldn't be allowed."

"This is a case that should have never been brought up," Trump said. "It's very unfair, and it's very bad for New York State ... Letitia James, that's all she thinks about is 'get Trump,' she's been dreaming about it for years, and it's not it's not the way a state should be run."

James responded in a press conference of her own on Thursday evening.

“The personal attacks don’t really bother me,” James said. “This trial has shown and we have produced evidence about the scope, the scale, the depth, the breadth of the illegality, the fraud, that personally enriched Donald Trump and his family.”

Before Trump spoke at court, his lawyers echoed his complaints, arguing witnesses never accused his businesses of fraud and the trial was the result of political motivations.

"Forty-four days of trial — not one witness came into this courtroom, your honor, and said there was fraud," Trump lawyer Kise said.

James, a Democrat, wants the judge to impose $370 million in penalties. Trump says he did nothing wrong. He contends outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should’ve flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shield him from liability.

"This entire case is a manufactured claim to pursue a political agenda," Kise said in his closing argument. "It has been press releases and posturing but no evidence."

Lawyers from James' office delivered their closing argument Thursday afternoon.

Trump echoed the bulk of his courtroom speech at the news conference later that served as counter programming to the state’s closing argument. Trump peppered his remarks at a lower Manhattan office building he owns and could lose control of as a result of the trial with barbs about Biden, rape accuser E. Jean Carroll and other adversaries.

Trump's company and two of his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are also defendants. Eric Trump was also in court for closing arguments and appeared with his father at the press conference.

Besides monetary damages, James wants Trump and his co-defendants barred from doing business in New York.

State lawyers say that by making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms from banks, saving him at least $168 million.

Trump returned to court as a spectator Thursday despite the death of his mother in-law, Amalija Knavs, and the launch of the presidential primary season Monday with the Iowa caucus.

Since the trial began Oct. 2, Trump has gone to court nine times to observe, testify and complain to TV cameras about the case, which he called a "witch hunt and a disgrace."

He clashed with Engoron and state lawyers during 3½ hours on the witness stand in November and remains under a limited gag order after making a disparaging and false social media post about the judge's law clerk.

Thursday's arguments are part of a busy legal and political stretch for Trump.

On Tuesday, he was in court in Washington, D.C., to watch appeals court arguments over whether he is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election — one of four criminal cases against him. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that gives the state attorney general broad power to investigate allegations of persistent fraud in business dealings.

Kise, praising Trump as "part of the fabric of the commercial real estate industry" for a half-century, pointed to Trump's testimony that he intended lenders to do their own research and vetting after receiving his financial statements. The lawyer also argued, as Trump has repeatedly, that the documents understated — rather than overvalued — his wealth.

Kise, echoing Trump's testimony, said the outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should've flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shield him from liability.

Engoron said he is deciding the case because neither side asked for a jury and state law doesn't allow for juries for this type of lawsuit. He said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the month.

Last month, in a ruling denying a defense bid for an early verdict, the judge signaled he's inclined to find Trump and his co-defendants liable on at least some claims.

"Valuations, as elucidated ad nauseum in this trial, can be based on different criteria analyzed in different ways," Engoron wrote in the Dec. 18 ruling. "But a lie is still a lie."