Former President Donald Trump’s request for an expedited grant of leave to appeal the gag orders in his civil fraud trial was denied Monday afternoon.

The gag order is now likely to still be in effect on Monday when Trump takes the witness stand in his own defense.

Trump’s lawyers requested that Judge David Friedman, who initially lifted the gag order, permit them to appeal the final decision that reinstated the gag order to New York’s Court of Appeals.

“You had a decision by a panel of judges. A single judge cannot undo a panel’s decision,” Lauren Holmes, a court attorney, said during a scheduling meeting Monday afternoon at the Appellate Division First Department.

Dennis Fan, a lawyer for the New York Attorney General, also declined to consent to expediting the briefing schedule.

“You just want to let this drag out until the end of the trial,” Trump attorney Christopher Kise said. “That’s what they are doing.”

Trump still has an avenue to appeal the decision to a higher court; however, the effort will take longer than his lawyers would like. Trump’s lawyers now face a deadline of Monday, Dec. 11 to file their papers to the First Department.

Frederick Chin, a real estate valuation expert, testified that developers often have more latitude to value their properties compared to appraisers.

According to Chin, developers consider the enterprise value of their assets, meaning how different properties managed by the same company – such as Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton hotels – increase in value as part of a collection of assets.

“The whole is worth more than the sum of its parts,” Judge Arthur Engoron said to summarize Chin’s testimony.

Chin added that developers also consider the long-term plan for how their assets might be impacted by outside circumstances, like the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone in this room has a different perspective on what the next day and the future holds,” Chin said, comparing valuing assets to looking into a “crystal ball.”

Former President Donald Trump will likely attend his civil fraud trial on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter. He is not expected to be in attendance on Wednesday when his son Eric testifies.

Trump last attended the trial on Nov. 6 when he testified as the last state witness. In total, the former president has attended the trial for eight of the 39 days the court has been in session.

Trump is scheduled to testify on Monday, Dec. 11, as the last witness in the case.

A defense expert in real estate valuation suggested that a developer's vision could add over a billion dollars of value to a vacant lot.

Frederick Chin, who was qualified as an expert in real estate valuation, argued that Donald Trump used the "as if" investment value of his properties, rather than their current "as is" market value. According to Chin, the "as if" valuation perspective allows a real estate developer to consider the long-term development plans of a property when determining its value.

For example, a vacant lot in the heart of New York City might have a market value of $500 million, according to Chin. A real estate developer who envisions a hotel on the property might see its investment value closer to $2 billion.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who frequently interjected into Chin's testimony, described the approach that resulted in a $1.5 billion difference in the value of a hypothetical vacant lot as a developer's "genius factor."

Deutsche Bank executives courted Donald Trump to attract more business and referrals, viewing the former president as an opportunity to sell services to his family members and other high-net-worth individuals, according to the testimony of former Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic.

"Given the circles this family travels in, we expect to be introduced to the wealthiest people on the planet," Vrablic wrote to colleagues while courting Trump in the early 2010s, according to materials entered into evidence.

Recruiting Trump stemmed from a 2007 effort in the bank to develop a broader commercial real estate financing division for their high-net-worth individuals.

"He would have fit the category of the entrepreneur and investor with a successful track record," Vrablic testified on the stand regarding Trump's profile.

After being introduced to Donald Trump Jr. through Ivanka Trump's now-husband Jared Kushner, Vrablic began pursuing Donald Trump's business.

"We are whale hunting ... Haven't seen him yet. Also maybe Dad will convert like Ivanka did," Vrablic wrote in a 2011 email to a colleague.

"It is a term used when there is a very high-net-worth individual who is a prospect," Vrablic said in explaining why she referred to Trump as a "whale."

Once Trump was on board, leadership from the bank personally courted Trump to do more business with the bank and to connect them to other potential clients. The former CEO of the bank personally met with Trump with the express goal of gaining more deposits from Trump and leveraging Trump's relationships.

CEO Anshu Jain "thought that if Mr. Trump wanted to, there could be additional leverage provided among his world," Vrablic testified.

The effort appeared to work, as the bank made over $3 million in revenue from Trump in 2013, up from only $13,000 in 2011.