Donald Trump has arrived at court for a trial in a lawsuit that could cost him control of Trump Tower and other prized properties.
The former US president, who built his political career on his fame as a billionaire property developer, appeared voluntarily for the trial.
New York attorney general Letitia James’ suit accuses Mr Trump and his company of deceiving banks, insurers and others by habitually lying about his wealth in financial statements.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Mr Trump committed fraud in his business dealings. It is a non-jury trial, so Mr Engoron will decide on six other claims in the lawsuit.
Ms James, a Democrat, is seeking 250 million dollars (£205 million) in penalties and a ban on Mr Trump doing business in New York.
The judge’s ruling last week, if upheld on appeal, could force Mr Trump to give up New York properties including Trump Tower, a Wall Street office building, golf courses and a suburban estate.
Mr Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race, has denied wrongdoing. He says that Ms James and the judge are undervaluing such assets as Mar-a-Lago, and that it did not matter what he put on his financial statements because they have a disclaimer that says they should not be trusted.
In posts overnight on his Truth Social website, Mr Trump said he was going to court “to fight for my name and reputation” denounced the case as “a sham” and called on the attorney general and judge to resign.
Before the trial on Monday, Ms James reiterated her position that Mr Trump for years engaged in “persistent and repeated fraud”.
“No matter how powerful you are, and no matter how much money you think you have, no-one is above the law,” she said on her way into the courthouse.
The Republican former president and others in his orbit — his two eldest sons, Trump Organisation executives and former lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen – are all listed among dozens of potential witnesses.
Mr Trump is not expected to give evidence for several weeks. His trip to court marks a departure from his past behaviour.
Mr Trump did not go to court as either a witness or a spectator when his company and one of its top executives was convicted of tax fraud last year. He did not show, either, for a trial earlier this year in which a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting the writer E Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room.
Mr Trump called the New York lawsuit “a corporate death penalty”.
“I have a Deranged, Trump Hating Judge, who railroaded this fake case through a NYS Court at a speed never before seen,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In his post on Sunday night, Mr Trump wrote that Mr Engoron is “unfair, unhinged, and vicious in his pursuit of me”.
Mr Engoron will decide on six remaining claims in Ms James’ lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud.
Ms James’ lawsuit accused Mr Trump and his company of a long list of falsehoods in the financial statements he gave to banks. In a recent court filing, Ms James’ office alleged Mr Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as 3.6 billion dollars (£2.96 billion).
Among the allegations were that Mr Trump claimed his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan – a three-storey penthouse replete with gold-plated fixtures – was nearly three times its actual size and worth $327 million (£268 million). No apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount, Ms James said.
Mr Trump valued Mar-a-Lago as high as 739 million dollars (£606 million) – more than 10 times a more reasonable estimate of its worth, Ms James claimed. Mr Trump’s figure for the private club and residence was based on the idea that the property, now a private club, could be developed for residential use, but deed terms prohibit that, Ms James said.
Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing, arguing in sworn evidence for the case that it did not matter what he put on his financial statements because they have a disclaimer that says they should not be trusted.
He and his lawyers have also argued that no-one was harmed by anything in the financial statements. Banks he borrowed money from were fully repaid. Business partners made money. And Mr Trump’s own company flourished.
Ms James’ lawsuit is one of several legal headaches for Mr Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House in next year’s US presidential election.
He has been indicted four times since March, accused of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss, hoarding classified documents and falsifying business records related to hush money paid on his behalf.
The trial could last into December, Mr Engoron said.
