Former President Donald Trump arrived in New York City on Monday for the start of a civil fraud trial after he was found liable last month for inflating his net worth by billions of dollars.
Justice Arthur Engoron, a Democrat, is presiding over the nonjury trial, which began at 10 a.m. in a lower Manhattan courtroom.
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The trial will examine six claims in a sweeping lawsuit brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, who found Trump and the Trump Organization grossly overstated the value of several of their assets, including Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
In a 35-page ruling, Engoron found that property, for example, was valued at around $18 million, while Trump maintains that it is worth more than $1 billion.
The morning of the hearing, James said in a statement, “For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system. We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud.”
She added, “In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial.”
James is seeking $250 million in damages in the case and aiming to prohibit Trump from doing business in New York.
Trump, the leading Republican in the 2024 presidential election, has attacked James and Engoron as “racist” and “deranged,” respectively, and he has criticized the case as “fake” and a form of election interference.
Speaking to reporters ahead of entering the courtroom, Trump proclaimed his innocence in the case and reiterated that he believed the lawsuit was an attempt to hurt his election prospects.
“Everything was perfect. There was no crime. The crime is against me because we have a corrupt district attorney, a corrupt attorney general, and it all comes down from the DOJ,” Trump said. “They totally coordinated this in Washington because I’m leading. I’m the leading candidate. I’m leading Biden by 10 points, and I’m leading the Republicans by 50 and 60 points.”
The trial is not being televised, and Engoron on Monday denied media requests for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom for opening statements.
Ahead of the media exiting, Newsmax shared a shot of the judge smiling for a camera as he was situated directly across from Trump and his attorneys.
The judge is laughing? Absolutely disgusting! This commie will be overturned! pic.twitter.com/OgkzndxSXz
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 2, 2023
Engoron estimated during the proceedings that the trial could last until Dec. 22, according to CNN.
The trial is only the beginning of the president’s busy year ahead, which is crammed with legal activity and campaigning.
Trump’s civil battle with E. Jean Carroll, a well-known columnist and author, will resurface in January 2024 after a judge found Trump liable this year for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.
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Cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C., over the 2020 election and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over a hush money scheme are both set to begin in March 2024.
Another case brought by Smith in Florida over classified documents is scheduled for May 2024, and a judge has not yet determined the trial date for Trump in a case in Fulton County, Georgia, related to the 2020 election.
