Former US president Donald Trump attended his civil fraud trial in New York for a second day on Tuesday, seizing again on the media exposure to amplify claims he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
The 77-year-old, who is facing legal battles on multiple fronts, has arrived to court each day denouncing in his trademark combativeness what he says is a rigged and fraudulent trial.
On Tuesday he lashed out at New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the case against him, calling her “very corrupt” and “grossly incompetent,” before entering the chamber where he could eventually be barred from doing business in the state.
Trump has previously denounced the case as a “sham” intended to torpedo his bid to recapture the White House next year and on Monday called James, who is African American, “racist.”
The clear frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary, Trump was not required to attend the first two days in court but chose to do so, taking a seat at the defense table flanked by his lawyers.
In the courtroom were his two sons Don Jr and Eric, who are also on trial before New York Judge Arthur Engoron, whom Trump has called “deranged.”
On Tuesday the Republican watched the proceedings, which are in a technical phase, often scowling or looking on wearily.
Before the trial convened for its afternoon session, Engoron reprimanded Trump for an insulting social media post about a court clerk and verbally issued a gag order for all parties to not comment on his staff. Trump’s post has since been removed.
– ‘Watch this witch hunt’ –
Trump declined to appear in person at an earlier civil case this year, in which he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming an American former magazine columnist, E. Jean Carroll, and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages.
This time, he is not letting the opportunity to publicly frame himself as a victim slip by.
The move comes as Trump faces criminal charges in four different cases, with trials set to take place in 2024 — some in the middle of the Republican Party primaries.
“I want to watch this witch hunt myself,” he told reporters on Monday.
Trump does not risk going to jail in the civil trial, but James is seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of the former president and his sons from management of the family empire.
The state attorney general has accused Trump, his sons and other executives of colossally inflating the value of their assets in order to receive more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.
– Lies and exaggerations –
The accusations have been brushed off by Trump, who since Monday has mocked the court’s $18 million valuation of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He claims the property is worth $1.5 billion.
The civil trial also involves multiple other Trump Organization properties such as Trump Tower and the 40 Wall Street building in New York, as well as golf courses.
Engoron ruled last week that Trump, his two eldest sons and other Trump Organization executives lied to tax collectors, lenders and insurers for years in a scheme that exaggerated the value of their properties by $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.
As a result, the judge revoked the state business licenses that allowed the Trump Organization to operate some of its New York properties and asked the parties to propose receivers to manage the dissolution of the companies in question.
– Andréa BAMBINO
