Former US President Trump testifies in New York real estate fraud case

The former U.S. President Donald Trump testified at an ongoing trial in New York City in a case in which he is accused of "multiple real estate fraud".

Trump took his seat in a courtroom in Manhattan this morning for a hearing at the state Supreme Court. Trump denies all allegations and defends his estate and companies, calling the trial a "witch hunt." He stated, "I am much richer than the financial statements say. This is the opposite of fraud here. You are probably trying to harm me for political reasons. "

The judge's warning

During his testimony, Trump was warned by Judge Arthur Engoron for "useless and lengthy answers" and''called to supervise his attorney Chris Cayce. Trump gave his testimony lasting about 4 hours, stating that there was no fraud in his company's financial statements and that the case against him was opened for political reasons. He noted that the banks successfully repaid the loans he received and stated, "The banks made a lot of money working with me, they loved me. If they had a claim against me, they would have sued me with the help of the best lawyers in the world. "

The expected testimony

On Wednesday, Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump is expected to testify.

The judge's expected ruling

In the trial, which began Oct. 2 and is expected to run through mid-December, Judge Engoron will have to determine how much of a fine the Trump companies will be assessed, as well as whether they will be allowed to do business in New York State. Given that this is a civil fraud case, a prison sentence is not expected during the trial.

Previous charges

There have been previous cases against Trump for 'sexual harassment' and 'tax fraud', but he has not attended most of the hearings in those cases. However, in this case, Trump despite''s lack of commitment to testify, showed up to the court hearing multiple times, prompting unexpected media attention.

The fraud case Trump is accused of was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In the charging document, she alleges that Trump and his three children overestimated his and his company's wealth by $3.6 billion. She also asks the judge to bar Trump and his children from creating new companies in New York, ban them from buying commercial real estate for 5 years and impose a $250 million fine.

In his 35-page ruling, Judge Engoron said Trump and his company routinely lied about their financial situation to get loans and low insurance''dues. Trump's lawyers have already appealed the judge's ruling, and they have asked a New York appeals court to assess whether the judge made errors in ruling and exceeded his authority.