Former President Trump appeared in court on Monday, calling the non-jury civil fraud trial “extremely unfair and unprecedented” and blaming New York Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James for their efforts to harm him politically.
James filed a civil case against the former president, his family, and their businesses, and on Monday morning, the former president and likely Republican presidential nominee in 2024 appeared in court to defend himself. James stated that Trump committed financial fraud and misrepresented the worth of his assets.
Trump has consistently claimed that his assets were undervalued even though he has been accused of fraud. Trump has often claimed that his financial statements included disclaimers inviting banks to evaluate the figures.
On Monday, during Trump’s testimony, Engoron tried to keep him from answering all of the questions asked by the state attorneys with lengthy speeches.
Trump said If it weren’t for the disclaimer clause in all of his financial statements and statements of financial condition, they “wouldn’t even be having this dispute.”
The former president blasted James, calling her a “political hack” and alleging that she was only interested in using her probe and lawsuit against him to further her political career. The former president cited James’ promises to elect Trump during her campaigns.
According to Trump, she should be embarrassed by this political witch hunt.
James said that Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and their father’s business partners and colleagues committed fraud and misrepresentation on their financial accounts.
While Trump was amassing his real estate empire, Engoron concluded in September that he and his company committed fraud by lying about his wealth and overstating the value of his assets on documents used to secure financing from banks and insurers.
Trump claimed that Engoron undervalued his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Mar-a-Lago, by $20 million.
During Trump’s questioning, a state attorney named Kevin Wallace questioned whether the former president was finished with one of his lengthy answers.
“Done,” as Trump put it.
