Former President Donald Trump defied instructions by Judge Arthur Engoron to refrain from making “political” statements during closing arguments in a civil fraud trial in New York City where Engoron has already ruled the billionaire businessman committed fraud.

Trump said Thursday that his “legal issues” have been “set up” by President Biden and the Democrats, declaring that it is “their new form of cheating” in the election, Fox News reported.

After the closing arguments were presented in the non-jury civil trial arising from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him, Trump conducted a press conference at his Manhattan property located at 40 Wall St.

James filed a lawsuit against Trump, along with his family and business empire, alleging that he exaggerated his financial statements and misled banks. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, asserting that his assets were, in fact, undervalued. He has also repeatedly emphasized that his financial statements contained disclaimers, urging banks to assess the numbers independently.

Trump made two court appearances this week. He also appeared in a federal Appeals Court in Washington D.C., where he is asserting presidential immunity from charges in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case.

The court appearances occurred just days before the first-in-the-nation primary contests in Iowa, specifically the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucuses.

“My legal issues, every one of them, every one — civil and criminal ones — are all set up by Joe Biden. Crooked Joe Biden,” he said. “This is something that’s never happened in this country, even when you look at this, this is all about Biden.”

“This should never have happened,” Trump said of the New York trial. “But again, this is sponsored by the Democrats.”

Trump cited the charges brought against him in Smith’s case involving classified records, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Currently, President Biden is the subject of a special counsel investigation for a similar matter involving allegations of improper retention of classified records, but the special counsel investigating that case, Robert Hur, has not been heard from much since his appointment a year ago.

“I just hear where they want to try and exonerate Biden, and he didn’t have the Presidential Records Act. And I do. I did nothing wrong,” Trump said. “You can’t have two tiers of justice in this country.”