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Hear Trump speak upon arriving to court for New York civil trial00:57
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Trump civil fraud trial in New York begins
By Mike Hayes,
Aditi Sangal and
Leinz Vales, CNN
Updated 11:50 a.m. ET, October 2, 2023
What we're covering here
- The first day of the civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump, his eldest sons, their companies and Trump Organization executives has started. Trump is in court and is attending the trial.
- Last week, a state Supreme Court judge found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud for grossly inflating asset valuations on financial statements, a finding that could spell the end of Trump’s business career in his former home state. The trial will determine the amount of damages owed.
- The former president, his adult children, and his closest business advisers are listed as potential witnesses.
- The trial is expected to last until December 22, Judge Arthur Engoron said Monday.
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7 min ago
Opening statements are finished in Trump civil trial
From CNN's Kara Scannell and Aaron Cooper
Opening statements from the attorneys for former President Donald Trump and the New York attorney general are finished.
Judge Arthur Engoron has now given a 10-minute break.
The former president and his son, Eric Trump, have exited the courtroom.
16 min ago
Trump's lawyer: "He has made a fortune literally about being right about real estate"
From CNN's Aaron Cooper and Lauren del Valle
Former President Donald Trump, right, sits with his lawyer Chris Kise, left, in the courtroom at New York Supreme Court on Monday in New York. Seth Wenig/Pool/AP
Former President Donald Trump's attorney Chris Kise began his opening statement with an understatement, saying their team has a "very different picture of the evidence.”
Kise said the former president's real estate knowledge made him a billionaire.
“President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world,” Kise said. "He has made a fortune literally about being right about real estate.”
Trump continues to look ahead at the monitor displaying his organization’s loan agreements, and occasionally leaning over talking to his lawyer.
“There may be wide variations between different valuations” of certain parts of the Trump Org.'s real estate portfolio, Kise said, but added the evidence at trial will show the asset valuations on Trump's statements of financial condition comply with regulatory requirements.
18 min ago
Attorney urges judge to bar Trump from doing business in New York
From CNN's Lauren del Valle, Aaron Cooper, Kara Scannell and Jeremy Herb
Kevin Wallace, an attorney for the New York Attorney General’s office, charged that each of the defendants in Donald Trump’s civil case, including the former president, participated in or had knowledge of the information in the fraudulent financial statements and conspired to commit persistent and repeated fraud.
Wallace urged the judge in his opening statement to bar Trump from doing business in New York. He alleged that Trump’s fraudulent financial statements convinced banks to take on hidden risk “to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“While it may be one thing to exaggerate for Forbes magazine… you cannot do it while conducting business in the state of New York,” Wallace said concluding his opening statement.
"Year after year, loan after loan, the defendants misrepresented Mr. Trump’s net worth to maintain those favorable interest rates," he noted.
The attorney general’s office has alleged that Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion in three separate years between 2011 and 2021. Attorneys for Trump have refuted the claims, arguing that asset valuations are highly subjective.
In his opening statement, Wallace used video clips of depositions from Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s former longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
Trump’s lawyers objected to the use of these video clips from depositions, but the judge overruled their objection.
Wallace played clips of Trump’s eldest sons, Allen Weisselberg and Trump who all distanced themselves from the preparation of the statements of financial condition in their testimony.
In a clip from Trump’s deposition, he was asked if Allen Weisselberg oversaw the statement’s preparation. “I would say yes,” Trump said.
“The defendants are left to answer the question, were you lying then or are you lying now,” Wallace said.
Wallace also played a clip of Michael Cohen’s deposition addressing the years he helped prepare the documents.
Cohen said Weisselberg would take inflated asset valuations from Trump and adjust the statements of financial condition to accommodate Trump's assertions.
Trump was looking forward during the opening, not at Wallace who is speaking on his right. He had a screen at his table to watch the clips that were played in the courtroom.
Trump attorney Chris Kise is now giving his opening statement.
50 min ago
In pictures: Trump in court for civil fraud trial
From CNN Digital’s Photo Team
Former President Donald Trump is at a New York City courthouse Monday for
the start of a civil fraud trial against him, his eldest sons, their companies and Trump Organization executives.
Last week, a state Supreme Court judge
found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud for grossly inflating asset valuations on financial statements. The ruling was a significant victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a $250 million lawsuit last year alleging that Trump and his co-defendants committed repeated fraud in inflating assets on financial statements to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies.
See photos from inside and around the courthouse today:
Former President Donald Trump sits in a courtroom at the start of a civil fraud trial in New York on Monday, October 2. Brendan McDermid/Pool/Reuters
Demonstrators stand outside the court before the start of Trump's civil trial on Monday. Laura Oliverio/CNN
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the New York Supreme Court on Monday. On his way to the courtroom, Trump said the civil fraud trial is a "continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time." He also called it "a scam and a sham." Seth Wenig/AP
A box is carried at the courthouse before the start of the trial. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York Attorney General Letitia James gives a short statement to the media before the start of the trial on Monday. "My message is simple: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law," she said. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
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