Former US President Donald Trump has arrived at court in New York for the start of the civil trial against him on fraud charges. The 77-year-old Republican was led in a motorcade from his Trump Tower in Manhattan to the courthouse today, footage showed. Trump announced yesterday that he would attend the start of the trial “to fight for my name and my reputation.”
New York State Attorney General Letitia James expressed confidence that she would succeed in court against the presidential candidate.
“Justice will prevail,” she said outside the courtroom. “My message is simple: no matter how powerful someone is, no matter how much money someone thinks they have, no one is above the law.”
Victory for James
James accuses Trump of inflating the assets of his real estate empire over the years to obtain better loan and insurance terms.
Last week, the Attorney General achieved an important legal victory: Judge Arthur Engoron ruled, before the trial began, that Trump had exaggerated his assets and was therefore committing “fraud”.
Trump denied accusations
The civil trial that now begins is therefore particularly concerned with the question of how high the penalty against Trump will be. James demands a fine of 250 million dollars (about 237 million euros) against Trump and his family holding company.
She also wants the former president and his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Junior and Eric Trump, to no longer be able to run companies in the state.
James sued Trump and his family in September 2022. The former president, who wants to regain the White House in 2024, rejects the accusations and describes them as politically motivated.