During his civil fraud trial, Donald Trump vigorously defended himself before the New York attorney general and presiding judge. State attorneys allege the former president falsely reported income in excess of $100 million related to his real estate assets.
Attorney General Letitia James is seeking sanctions of at least $250 million and permanent injunctions against Trump and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, doing business in New York. Additionally, it was suggested that Trump and his organization's involvement in commercial real estate activities would be limited to five years.
The proceedings in the Manhattan courtroom began after opening statements. Donald Bender, a partner at Mazars USA and a longtime accountant for Trump's companies who served as the state's first witness, took the stand.
Before the trial, Trump spoke to reporters and called the case a "scam" and a "sham," saying it was a politically motivated revenge plot orchestrated by James. During the break, he called Democrats “corrupt individuals” responsible for driving people out of New York.
He did not hold back in criticizing Judge Arthur Engoron, accusing him of being a Democrat who, according to Trump, is using the case as a way to interfere in the 2024 presidential election, which Trump is currently leading in the election race in the Republican nominations.
The opening of the trial was used by Trump's campaign to raise money, as they presented it as a way to protect his family and reputation from what they described as "corrupt tyrants" in the Democratic Party from New York. The case revolves around the attorney general's allegations that Trump inflated his assets and net worth from 2011 to 2021, in an attempt to obtain favorable bank loans and lower insurance premiums. James argued that Trump overestimated the value of assets such as the Trump Tower penthouse, the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and various office buildings and golf clubs, inflating his fortune by about $2.2 billion.
Kevin Wallace, a representative from James's office, pointed out that this is not the usual way of doing business and that sophisticated parties do not conduct business this way. He also emphasized that these crimes are not victimless.
In his opening statement, Christopher Kise, Trump's lawyer, countered that Trump's financial transactions were completely legal. Kise believes that Trump accumulated his wealth through wise investments in real estate. He affirmed that there was no intention to deceive, no violation of law, no breach of duty, no breach of trust, no bank relied on false information, no illegal gain and no individual unjust.
Another legal representative, Alina Habba, privately argued to Engoron that Trump's assets were similar to "Mona Lisa assets" and could fetch a higher price if he sold them.
Last week, in a landmark move, a judge held Trump, along with his adult sons and 10 businesses, liable for fraud. He scathingly describes how the defendants manipulated valuations, giving an example in which they mispriced a Trump Tower apartment at three times its actual size, equating to a valuation of 327 million dollars.
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