The first day of the civil fraud trial witnessed a pugnacious Donald Trump openly criticising the judge and attorney general, setting the stage for a potential ban on his business endeavours in New York state.
Amid his ongoing legal troubles, the 77-year-old Trump condemned the business fraud case as a “sham” with the aim of sabotaging his potential return to the presidency in the next year.
‘This has to do with election interference, plain and simple,’ Trump said as he arrived for the opening day of what could be a three-month trial. ‘What we have here is an attempt to hurt me in an election.’
In a previous judgment, New York Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump and his sons, Eric and Don Jr, had committed fraud by artificially boosting the valuations of Trump Organisation’s real estate and financial assets for a significant period.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has set her sights on obtaining $250 million in penalties and the removal of Donald Trump and his sons from their positions at the helm of the family’s business empire.
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‘Justice will prevail,’ James told reporters. ‘No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law.’
Although he was not mandated to be present on the trial’s opening day, Trump opted to attend and was seen at the defense table alongside his lawyers.
‘It’s a scam. It’s a sham,’ he told reporters before entering the Manhattan courtroom. ‘My financial statements are phenomenal.’
During a lunch break, a visibly angry Trump condemned what he called a ‘disgraceful trial put forward by an attorney general who is corrupt.’
Given the absence of a jury in the trial, the entirety of Trump’s fate is at the discretion of Judge Engoron, a situation that did not prevent the former president from characterizing him as a “maverick” Democratic judge deserving of disbarment.
The trial in New York is just the beginning of a series of upcoming legal battles for the former president.
Trump’s next court appearance is set for March 4, 2024, before a federal judge in Washington, where he faces charges related to attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
After his federal court appearance in Washington, Trump will make his way back to a New York state court to address charges of making hush payments to a porn star. Then, he will face allegations of mishandling classified documents in a federal court in Florida following his term in office.
In Georgia, Trump will be faced with state charges, with prosecutors contending that he engaged in illicit efforts to alter the 2020 election results to his benefit.