Donald Trump appeared again in his civil financial fraud trial in a New York court on Thursday and reiterated that the proceedings against him were unfair.
• Also read: Trump wanted to “stay in power at all costs,” prosecutors say
• Also read: Is America “sleepwalking” toward a Trump dictatorship?
• Also read: According to the American judiciary, Trump can be held civilly liable for the attack on the Capitol
The former US president and two of his children, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, are accused of inflating the value of the Trump Organization’s real estate assets by billions of dollars in the 2010s in order to obtain cheaper loans from banks.
The Trump camp denies any fraud.
Before the hearing opened, Donald Trump took to social media to protest against these lawsuits, claiming that “the case had already been decided before it even began.”
During that trial, the former president, who could win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, repeatedly accused Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the trial, of being “crazy, completely unbalanced and dangerous” and “doing this.” The Democratic Party’s Dirty Work.”
He also accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of being “corrupt” and “racist.”
Donald Trump, who testified in the case on Nov. 6 and is scheduled to testify again on Dec. 11, attended Thursday’s hearing as a spectator.
He wore a dark blue suit and again said he had been the victim of a “witch hunt” on the way to court.
“It is a witch hunt and a very corrupt process,” he assured the media.
In the courtroom, Donald Trump reviewed documents while his lawyers questioned Eli Bartov, an accounting professor who had provided positive evidence for the former president.
“Three to four percent of companies report errors in their financial reports. Financial mistakes are normal. They are inevitable,” said Eli Bartov.
He also argued that accounting standards that do not take into account intangible assets, such as a company’s reputation, resulted in the true value of Donald Trump’s assets being underestimated.
“There is no doubt that the Trump brand is worth billions (…) but it does not appear in the financial statements,” he explained.
This trial is just one of the trials awaiting Donald Trump. In particular, he must appear before the federal judiciary in Washington starting in March 2024 for his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.