
Donald Trump returns to New York court after fiery start to fraud trial
Global News
The trial is the culmination of a lawsuit in which New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has accused Trump of deceiving banks, insurers and others.
After a fiery first day of opening statements, lawyers in Donald Trump’s business fraud trial in New York will move on Tuesday to the more plodding task of going through years of his financial documents in what’s expected to be a weekslong fight over whether they constitute proof of fraud.
An accountant who prepared Trump’s financial statements for years is expected to be back on the witness stand for a second day.
Trump, who spent a full day Monday as an angry spectator at the civil trial, said he’ll be back at the defense table.
“See you in Court on Tuesday morning!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The trial is the culmination of a lawsuit in which New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has accused the Republican former president of deceiving banks, insurers and others for years by giving them papers that misstated the value of his assets.
Judge Arthur Engoron delivered an early victory to James last week, ruling that Trump committed fraud by exaggerating the size of his penthouse at Trump Tower, claiming his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was worth as much as $739 million and putting similar oversized valuations on office towers, golf courses and other assets.
The non-jury trial concerns six remaining claims in the lawsuit and how much Trump might owe in penalties. James is seeking $250 million and a ban on Trump doing business in New York. The judge has already ruled that some of Trump’s limited liability companies should be dissolved as punishment.
During the trial’s first day, Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the attorney general, told the judge that Trump and his company had lied “year after year after year” in his financial statements to make him look richer than he really was.