Donald Trump arrives at the courthouse in Manhattan (New York) this Monday. JUSTIN LANE / POOL (EFE)
Former President Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan, New York, court this Monday for a civil trial on fraud charges. The first hearing of the case – launched in September 2022 by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the tycoon, two of his eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and several executives of the organization – began promptly at ten a.m. local time (Six hours more in mainland Spain), after the former president arrived at the court half an hour earlier amid a large security presence and the usual swarm of cameras. Trump arrived at the courthouse accompanied by his two sons and several business partners. “This is a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time,” the politician declared before entering the room. “We have a great company. I’ve built a great company, it’s great… It has some of the largest real estate assets in the world. And now I have to appear before an unscrupulous judge,” he added.
Last week, the judge investigating the case, Arthur Engoron, ruled that the former president was liable for fraud because he used his statements to inflate the value of his properties for a decade in order to deceive banks, insurance companies and other companies and gain benefits To provide. Prosecutor James, a Democrat whom the former president accuses of a political witch hunt, will seek $250 million in damages and propose banning the Trumps from serving as directors in New York and banning the company, the so-called Trump Organization, from operating for five years . Trump’s testimony is not scheduled for several weeks and the trial will last until at least next Christmas. However, his voluntary appearance this Monday represents a radical change compared to previous summonses that he was unable to attend.
Although this is a civil case (in which there is no threat of prison time if found guilty) and the sanction sought by the prosecution is practically pocket money, the scope of the measures imposed by Judge Engoron seriously undermines the reputation of Trump, who was bragging Being a businessman, his self-made man figure is the basis of his political career. Engoron could deprive the organization of control of important assets, starting with the symbolic Trump Tower in the heart of Manhattan, from which the Republican launched his political career with the successful film image: with his wife Melania down the escalator at the entrance to the building, a chrome showpiece, Gold and marble, on the three upper floors of which the single-family house is located (the triplex would also be included in the sanction). In addition, Trump could find himself without a Wall Street office building, golf courses and a country estate. The case only affects a handful of the roughly 500 companies in Trump’s portfolio, but they are among the most relevant.
The trial will therefore test his business practices and something much more important in a country that particularly punishes dishonesty: whether the fortune Trump acquired through persistence and ambition was not actually based on original sin. The lie. Although he faces his hypothetical re-election as president in 2024 – he is the favorite candidate of the Republicans – this civil case does not have the political relevance of some of the four allegations against him (e.g. that of election interference in Georgia or the newspapers). of Mar-a-Lago), the possibility of losing control of Trump Tower and the other properties has infuriated the Republican candidate. Trump rejects bad practices and claims that James and Engoron are undervaluing assets such as the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, also calling the matter a “farce.” Their lawyers also assure that what is written in their statements does not matter as they contain a disclaimer stating that they are not 100% reliable.
In messages posted overnight on his Truth Social network, Trump stressed that he would go to court “to fight for my name and my reputation” and called on James and Engoron to resign.
The former president built his political career on his earnings as a billionaire negotiator, an advantage he exploited in his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal”: part memoir, part business advice manual, the work strengthened his brand. Personally – his name – and which were later validated through other marketing and visibility initiatives such as the reality TV show “The Apprentice”, his final stepping stone into politics in 2016.
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In addition to his two eldest sons, several company executives and Michael Cohen, his former confidant turned enemy, those called as witnesses during the trial include Allen Weisselberg, who was finance director of the Trump Organization for decades. and that he pleaded guilty to tax fraud to prevent the fraud from affecting his boss. The scapegoat was sentenced to five months in prison last January. The Trump Organization was found guilty of the same charge in December and ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine a month later.
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