After judge's rebuke, Trump returns to court for 3rd day for fraud lawsuit trial
Former President Donald Trump is back at New York civil fraud trial for a third day Wednesday after running afoul of the judge by denigrating a key court staffer in a social media post
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump returned to his New York civil fraud trial for a third day Wednesday after running afoul of the judge by denigrating a key court staffer in a social media post.
Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential race, is voluntarily taking time out from the campaign trail to attend the trial. New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit accuses Trump and his business of deceiving banks, insurers and others by providing financial statements that greatly exaggerated his wealth.
Judge Arthur Engoron already has ruled that Trump committed fraud by inflating the values of prized assets including his Trump Tower penthouse. The ruling could, if upheld on appeal, cost the former president control of his signature skyscraper and some other properties.
Trump denies any wrongdoing. With familiar rhetoric, on his way into court Wednesday, he called James «incompetent,” portrayed her as part of a broader Democratic effort to weaken his 2024 prospects, and termed the trial “a disgrace.”
Trump has frequently vented in the courthouse hallway and on social media about the trial, James and Judge Arthur Engoron, also a Democrat.
But after he assailed Engoron's principal law clerk on social media Tuesday, the judge imposed a limited gag order, commanding all participants in the trial not to hurl personal attacks at court staffers. The judge told Trump to delete the “disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post,» and the former president took it down.
The non-jury trial concerns six claims that
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