Donald Trump appeared in New York court on Tuesday for the third week of a civil fraud trial that could dismantle pillars of the former U.S. president’s business empire.
Trump, frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, arrived fresh off a Monday campaign stop in Iowa and after a weeklong absence from the trial centering on allegations that he inflated his net worth to secure more favorable loan terms.
“This is a rigged trial,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom. Dressed in a dark blue suit and wearing an American flag pin on his lapel, Trump lashed out at the Biden administration and repeated his claim that the case amounted to a political witchhunt.
A real estate appraiser involved in valuing Trump’s 40 Wall Street property is expected to testify on Tuesday, along with a Trump Organization accountant involved in the company’s internal bookkeeping practices.
The lawsuit by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges Trump reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings by overstating the value of his properties in documents he provided to banks.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended the valuations of his properties, saying the case is a “fraud” and attacking both James and the judge overseeing the case.
Trump told reporters outside the courtroom that the true values of his assets including his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida were “close to 100 times” what James’ office claimed.
“The actual worth is much more than that, so therefore there’s no fraud,” he said.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, a star witness in the case, is expected to testify next week.
The judge, Justice Arthur Engoron, found in September that Trump had engaged in fraud and ordered the dissolution of companies that control crown jewels of his real estate portfolio, including Trump Tower in Manhattan. That ruling is on hold while Trump appeals.
The trial largely concerns damages. James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.
Engoron imposed a gag order on Trump after the former president attacked a court clerk in a post on his Truth Social platform. The gag order bars Trump from speaking publicly about court staff.
(Reuters)