Civil fraud trial "took me off campaign trail," claims Donald Trump
Trump has claimed that the civil fraud trial in New York, which began on Monday, is a political attack against him and has taken him «off the campaign trail», CNN reported.
He expressed his frustration about not being able to campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and other places due to his courtroom presence.
«This was for politics. It has been very successful for them — they took me off the campaign trail,» Trump said as he exited the courtroom after the court was wrapped for the day, CNN reported.
«Because I've been sitting in a courthouse all day long, instead of being in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or a lot of other places I could be at,» he added.
On being asked if he was returning for the trial on Tuesday, he said: «We may, I'd love not to. I'd love to be campaigning instead of doing this.»
Meanwhile, the trial wrapped up for the day, with the first witness for the New York attorney general, Trump's former long-time accountant Donald Bender, testifying about financial documents from 2011.
Bender explained that the accounting firm Mazars USA would not have issued these financial statements if the Trump Organization had not represented that the numbers were accurate.
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