Donald Trump appeared again on Thursday at his civil trial for financial fraud in a New York court, repeating that the proceedings against him are unfair.
• Read also: Trump wanted to ‘remain in power at all costs,’ prosecutors say
• Read also: Is America “sleepwalking” towards a Trump dictatorship?
• Read also: Trump can be held civilly liable for the assault on the Capitol, according to the American justice system
The former US president is accused along with two of his children, Donald Jr and Eric Trump, of having inflated the value of the Trump Organization’s real estate assets by billions of dollars in the 2010s to obtain more favorable loans from banks .
The Trump camp denies any fraud.
Before the opening of the hearing, Donald Trump protested on social networks against these lawsuits, claiming that the “case had been decided against (s) against before it had even started”.
During this trial, the former president, in pole position to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, repeatedly accused judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the proceedings, of being “crazy, totally unbalanced and dangerous,” and “doing the Democratic Party’s dirty work.”
He also accused New York State Attorney General Letitia James of being “corrupt” and “racist.”
Donald Trump, who testified in the case on November 6 and is scheduled to take the stand again as a witness on December 11, attended the hearing Thursday as a spectator.
Dressed in a navy blue suit, he once again said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” on his way to court.
“It’s a witch hunt and it’s a very corrupt trial,” he assured the media.
In the courtroom, Donald Trump reviewed documents while his lawyers questioned Eli Bartov, an accounting professor, who provided evidence favorable to the former president.
“Three or four percent of companies report having made errors in their financial statements. Financial mistakes are normal. They are inevitable,” said Eli Bartov.
He also argued that accounting rules, which do not take into account intangible assets, such as the notoriety of a company for example, meant that the real value of Donald Trump’s assets was underestimated.
“There is no doubt that the Trump brand is worth billions (…) but it does not appear in the financial statements,” he declared.
This trial is just one of the legal trials that await Donald Trump. In particular, he must appear from March 2024 before federal justice in Washington for his alleged attempts to reverse the result of the 2020 election.
