Donald Trump is back in court in New York for the fraud case #Trump #court #fraud

Donald Trump appeared in a New York court on Tuesday for the third week of a civil trial over fraud allegations that could undermine the foundations of the former U.S. president's business empire.

Trump, the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, arrived after a campaign in Iowa and after a week-long absence from a court hearing regarding allegations of inflating his wealth to secure better loan terms.

“This is a rigged process,” Trump told reporters outside the courthouse. Dressed in a dark blue suit and wearing a pin with the American flag on his lapel, he sharply criticized the Biden administration and reiterated his claim that the case is a political witch hunt.

It is expected that the real estate appraisal expert who evaluated Trump's properties on Wall Street and the accountant from the Trump Organization who handled the company's internal accounting will testify on Tuesday.

The lawsuit by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James claims that Trump received hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal savings by inflating the value of his properties in documents submitted to banks.

Trump denies his guilt and defends the valuation of his properties, speaking of "fraud" and attacking both James and the judge overseeing the case.

Trump told reporters outside the courtroom that the real value of his assets, including the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, is "100 times" higher than what the James office claimed. "The actual value is much higher, so there is no fraud here," he said.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is a key witness in this case, is expected to testify next week.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September that Trump committed fraud and ordered the dissolution of the companies controlling the most valuable assets of his real estate portfolio, including Trump Tower in Manhattan.

The process mainly concerns issues of damages. James is demanding at least $250 million in penalties, a permanent ban on doing business in New York for Trump and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, as well as a five-year ban on commercial real estate for Trump and the Trump Organization.

Engoron has imposed a ban on Trump's appearances in public places for court staff after the former president attacked a court clerk on his "Truth Social" platform. The ban prohibits Trump from publicly commenting on court staff.

(Reuters)