Former President Donald Trump made another appearance at the New York civil fraud trial against him and his family business, accusing state Attorney General Letitia James of being a "radical lunatic" out to "get Trump no matter what."
"This is an attorney general, Letitia, that went out and campaigned on 'I will get Trump. I will get Trump no matter what, I'll get Trump, I promise,'" the former president said Tuesday morning at the New York County Supreme Court.
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Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, visited the Empire State Tuesday, one day after a campaign stop in Iowa and after a weeklong absence from the trial surrounding allegations that he inflated his net worth to garner more favorable loan terms. The presiding judge over the case, Arthur Engoron, ruled ahead of the trial that Trump committed fraud while pursuing loans and other business deals.
"They said I overvalue my financial statements. Well, actually, the financial statements are undervalued by tremendous amounts of money. They're very conservative," Trump said.
The former president's return to the trial was slated to align with planned testimony by his former attorney-turned-foe Michael Cohen, but Cohen said Friday he was undergoing health problems and wouldn't attend on Tuesday, vowing to testify at a later date.
"When I do testify, I am certain Donald will be in attendance, sitting with his lawyers at the defendant’s table," Cohen told NBC.
Rather than hearing from Cohen on Tuesday, Trump and others in the courtroom will hear more testimony from Trump Organization accountant Donna Kidder, who divulged the company's bookkeeping practices on Monday. Other testimony is expected from Doug Larson, a former executive at commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Kidder will likely face questions about the Trump Organization's appraisals of a building owned by Trump at 40 Wall St. in Manhattan.
The trial surrounds alleged damages to the state of New York, as James is seeking at least $250 million in fines and a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from operating business in the state and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and his company.
Donald Trump's art of the steal.⤵️
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 17, 2023
Trump's triplex apartment in Trump Tower is 10,966 square feet.
Yet for years, he claimed it was 30,000 square feet to inflate its value and help enrich himself and his family.
"Trump's triplex apartment in Trump Tower is 10,966 square feet. Yet for years, he claimed it was 30,000 square feet to inflate its value and help enrich himself and his family," James posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.
In addition to the fraud ruling that came ahead of the trial, Engoron will be hearing six other claims brought forward by James, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy.
Trump attended the first three days of the trial earlier this month, where he spent breaks in the trial telling reporters that the case was a "sham" and "witch hunt" by his political rivals seeking to block him from running for reelection.
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"It's all set up by Biden and his thugs that he's surrounded with," Trump said, adding that President Joe Biden has "been the worst president in the history of our country."
Trump's arrival also comes one day after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., imposed a narrow gag order in his criminal trial over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Engoron has also placed a limited gag order in the civil trial, which bars him from speaking publicly about court staff.