Trump expected to attend New York fraud trial again Thursday as testimony nears an end
NEW YORK — He is a frustrated observer, a confrontational witness and a heated commentator outside the courtroom door. Now former President Donald Trump is about to return to his civil case fraud trial, first to watch and then serve as a key witness in his own defense.
With testimony ending after more than two months, court officials and Trump's lawyers and aides have indicated that the 2024 Republican presidential candidate is expected to appear voluntarily as a spectator on Thursday when his legal team calls an accounting professor to testify on some financial topics that are important to the case.
Trump himself will then take the stand for the second time on Monday.
Even as he campaigns to regain the presidency and fights four criminal cases, Trump is paying close attention to the New York trial. The case puts his assets on trial, examines the real estate empire that first built his reputation and threatens to prevent him from doing business in his home state.
New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump, his company and some executives of deceiving banks and insurers by giving them financial statements filled with inflated values for such signature assets as his Trump Tower penthouse and Mar-a-Lago, the club in Florida where he lives now. The statements were provided to secure deals – including loans at attractive interest rates available to hyper-rich people – and some loans required the statements to be updated every year.
Trump denies any wrongdoing, saying the figures in the statements did not actually reflect his wealth. He has played down the importance of the documents in securing deals, saying it was clear that lenders and others would have to do their own analysis. And he claims the case is a partisan abuse of power by James and Judge Arthur Engoron, both Democrats.
The former president has frequently complained about the matter on his Truth Social platform. “Happy banks and insurance companies, NO VICTIMS, GREAT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, perfect disclaimer clause – BUT A CORRUPT ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JUDGE!!!” read a typical comment from this week.
Trump does not have to attend the trial if he is not on the witness stand. But when he goes to court, he is given a microphone – in fact, many of them on the news cameras placed in the hallway. He often stops on the way to and from the proceedings, which cameras cannot film, to explain various developments and portray them as victories.
His comments outside court earned him a $10,000 fine on Oct. 26, when Engoron ruled that Trump had violated a gag order that bars trial participants from publicly commenting on court personnel. Trump's lawyers are appealing the gag order.
James has not left Trump unanswered, appearing in court herself on the days he is there and making her own comments on social media and on the courthouse steps. (Lawyers in the case have been told not to make press statements in the hallway, but the former president has been allowed to do so.)
“Here's a fact: Donald Trump has been guilty of financial fraud for years. Here's another fact: If you break the law, there are consequences,” her office wrote this week on X, formerly Twitter.
While the non-jury trial airs claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying corporate records, Engoron ruled in advance that Trump and other defendants were guilty of fraud. He ordered that a trustee take control of some Trump properties, but an appeals court has put that order on hold for now.
During the trial, James is seeking more than $300 million in fines and a ban on Trump and other defendants doing business in New York.
It is not clear exactly when the testimony will be completed, but it is expected to be before Christmas. Closing arguments are scheduled for January and Engoron aims for a decision by the end of that month.