NEW YORK (AP) – Former United States president Donald Trump returned to a New York City courthouse to be a spectator at the civil fraud trial that threatens to disrupt his real estate empire.
Trump attended the first three days of the trial on October 2-4. He turned his appearance into a campaign stop by complaining about the case at every opportunity to TV cameras in the hallway outside the courtroom.
His appearance this week was initially supposed to coincide with testimony by his attorney turned foe Michael Cohen. But Cohen’s planned appearance on the witness stand was delayed until at least next week.
Cohen said on Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he isn’t dodging Trump. In a text message, he said he has an “incredibly painful” medical condition but anticipates testifying as soon as the pain subsides.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump alleges that he and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and inflating his net worth in paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Trump denies any wrongdoing, said his assets were actually undervalued and maintains that disclaimers on the financial statements amounted to telling banks and other recipients to check the numbers out for themselves.
The attorney general started investigating Trump in 2019 after Cohen testified to Congress that the billionaire politician had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets to gain favourable loan terms and tax benefits.
The trial concerns six remaining claims in the lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
