Former President Donald Trump was seen arriving at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Sunday evening ahead of the start of his civil fraud trial on Monday morning, while writing on social media to “see you in court” to the prosecutor and judge in the case.
Flanked by Secret Service and NYPD officers, Trump wore a dark blue suit, a white button-down shirt and no tie as he entered before his first court appearance for a civil trial.
Barriers were erected around the 58-story Fifth Avenue building as he arrived around 11 p.m., when cameras saw Trump enter.
The $250 million fraud case began when New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump, his adult sons and the entire Trump Organization of inflating the value of real estate to suit her company’s needs.
In a post on Truth Social, he previewed what he thought was to come, suggesting the bias of both New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, who will prosecute and decide the case, respectively .
Former President Donald Trump was seen at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Sunday evening before his civil fraud trial began Monday morning
“I will go to court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation against a corrupt and racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who has campaigned to ‘get Trump,'” he wrote.
In several posts, he suggested that Engoron — whom he described as “deranged” and “Trump-hating” — was undervaluing his famous Mar-a-Lago estate.
“He values Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, at $18 million, even though it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount.” His valuations are fraudulent when it comes to election interference and worse. This whole case is a sham!!! “See you in court Monday morning,” Trump added.
He later called on both Engoron and James to resign “for deliberate and criminal election interference.”
“She is fully aware that Mar-a-Lago and other assets are worth much more than she claims. ‘These two Democratic activists are a disgrace to New York and the United States of America!’
On Monday, the civil trial will examine what Trump, his companies, his adult sons and his business associates did with that false information. This will be just one of several trials Trump will face from October to May.
Because he was constantly at odds with James, he also accused Engoron of conducting a “witch hunt” on him. Engoran is the judge in charge of this trial and will have the final say on what happens next for the 45th president.
Just last week, Engoron decided to destroy Trump’s family business due to widespread fraud. These properties included Trump Tower and Trump International Hotel.
Flanked by Secret Service and NYPD officers, Trump wore a dark blue suit, a white button-down shirt and no tie as he entered
When he arrived around 11 p.m., barriers were set up around the 58-story building on Fifth Avenue
In a post on Truth Social, he previewed what he thought was to come, suggesting the bias of both New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, who will prosecute and decide the case, respectively
“I will go to court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation against a corrupt and racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who has campaigned to ‘get Trump,'” Trump wrote
Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York ahead of his court appearance tomorrow
Since those properties were taken away, Trump has spoken openly about what he thinks of Judge Engoron’s decision.
“I have a deranged, Trump-hating judge who sent this bogus case through a New York courthouse at an unprecedented rate,” Trump said on social media.
In addition to trying to delay his trial, Politico reported that Trump went a step further and “accused the judge of failing to follow previous appeals,” which he said changed the scope of the case against him.
The former president’s legal team was somewhat rattled by Engoron’s abrupt decision, even after James discovered that Trump and his company had deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overstating his assets and exaggerating his net worth in filings that were used to conduct business and secure financing.
She also said he inflated valuations by as much as $2 billion, driving up the value of key assets including the Mar-a-Lago club where he now lives and his penthouse apartment in the Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Engoron found that Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied in his financial statements about what had the effect of favorable credit terms and lower insurance premiums.
Engoron responded to Trump’s claims with “Refuse to sign” and “The defendants’ arguments are completely without merit.”
He previously convicted Trump of contempt of court and ordered him to pay $100,000 after discovering he had failed to comply with a subpoena ordered by James’ office.
On Monday, the civil trial will examine what Trump, his companies, his adult sons and his business associates did with that false information. This will be just one of many tests Trump will face from October to May
Donald Trump is expected to arrive in the Big Apple on Sunday evening for his civil fraud trial on Monday. He could possibly be in town until Tuesday.
Because he constantly argued with James (pictured left), he also took Judge Arthur Engoron (pictured right) to court for conducting a “witch hunt” on him. Engoran is the judge in charge of this trial and will have the final say on what happens next for the 45th president
Engoron found that Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied in his financial statements about what had the effect of favorable credit terms and lower insurance premiums
Trump faces a series of legal hurdles in the coming months even as he runs for president again and leads the polls in the 2024 Republican primary.
On January 15, he is expected to begin the federal defamation trial brought by E. Jean Carroll.
Later this month, on January 29, a trial will begin in connection with a federal class action lawsuit that accused him and his company of promoting a Ponzi scheme.
Then on March 4, Trump will face a federal criminal trial accusing him of attempting to interfere in the 2020 election.
He will return to New York on March 25 for a trial over alleged mishandling of confidential documents.
Engoron had previously convicted Trump of contempt of court and ordered him to pay $100,000 after discovering he had failed to comply with a subpoena ordered by James’ office
Technically, he is not required to be present at the civil hearing unless he is asked to testify by James, which she says she is considering.
He has not yet appeared in court for any of his federal civil cases from earlier this year.
Regardless, Trump’s schedule will be tight as he focuses on battling Biden’s Justice Department in the election campaign.
If convicted on all charges, he faces 71 years in prison – and unlike federal charges, state charges cannot be pardoned by a president.
The investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began shortly after the release of a recording of a January 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the then-President suggested Raffensperger could “find 11,780 votes.” – just enough to overtake Joe Biden.
Trump has described his phone call with Raffensperger as “perfect” and portrayed the Democratic district attorney’s prosecution as politically motivated.
The attorney general did not instigate this feud between Trump and the judge because the two had a history.
Trump and his co-defendants will face only Judge Engoron in a bench trial, not a jury.
Through a court spokesman, Engoron declined to comment on Trump’s comments. He is prohibited from commenting on the case to the news media.
Engoron has been involved in Trump-related cases since 2020, when he was hired to intervene in disputes between Trump’s lawyers and James’ office over evidentiary demands and the direction of their investigation.
There is a possibility that Trump could remain in New York City Monday through Tuesday based on the outcome of the trial.