New York Attorney General Letitia James fired back at Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the former president can "call me names," but in the end, "he engaged in persistent fraud."
"Donald Trump can call me names. Donald Trump can try to cause distractions," said James, who has taken Trump to civil court in a $250 million lawsuit that could impact his personal fortune and real estate empire that helped him score the White House in 2016.
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"But at the end of the day, he engaged in persistent fraud, and we will continue to demonstrate that in court," James added in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.
Both Trump and James have attended the civil fraud trial this week, which accuses the former president, his sons Eric and Don Jr., and Trump Organization executives of engaging in a decadelong effort to inflate Trump's net worth to garner more favorable loan terms.
Real estate executive Doug Larson testified Tuesday that purported calls with him that were referenced in Trump Organization financial documents did not actually take place. He is expected to conclude his testimony Wednesday morning.
Jack Weisselberg, an executive at the real estate investment firm Ladder Capital who is also the son of Trump Organization ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg, is slated to testify Wednesday about his work refinancing a loan of Trump's 40 Wall Street property.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing, and his attorneys have argued that Trump's alleged inflation valuations were just a testament to his skills in business.
The former president returned to the trial Tuesday for the first time since his counsel appealed a pretrial ruling on Oct. 4 that found Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of some of his assets.
Trump disputed presiding Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling against him again during a Tuesday statement outside the courtroom, saying, "the financial statements are undervalued."
Trump, who is leading by large margins as the contender for the Republican presidential nominee, has railed against the civil fraud trial as a "witch hunt" concocted by his Democratic foes, including President Joe Biden.
He stands to gain more attention by showing up in court and has publicly lamented not being at every campaign stop due to his busy legal calendar. He's facing four criminal indictments and at least two other major civil cases. While Trump's appearance for his civil trial is voluntary, he will have several future court dates, many in his criminal trials, that he cannot miss.
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Trump has implied that the case brought by "'Peekaboo' James" should be a higher priority for the public, posting on Truth Social Tuesday that "despite my being here" in court, "the talk is all about Biden getting ready to fly to the Middle East to see Abbas, meeting arranged, and Abbas just canceled," Trump said in reference to the leader of the Palestinian Authority.
The former president on Wednesday walked into court addressing the ongoing Israel war against Hamas in the Middle East, saying the Oct. 7 attack against Israel "should have never happened" and that it "wouldn't have happened if they had a different president."