Former US president Donald Trump was back in court on Thursday for his New York civil trial on fraud allegations, once again condemning the process as unfair.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and his two eldest sons are accused of inflating the value of their real estate assets to receive more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.
Trump lashed out on social media ahead of the hearing, saying his “case was decided against me before it even started.”
During the trial Trump has called the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, “crazy” and “unhinged,” and denounced New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who is Black, as “corrupt” and “racist.”
Trump, who testified on November 6 and is expected to again take the witness stand on December 11, was in court as a spectator on Thursday.
He wore a dark blue suit and decried the process as a witch hunt as he made his way into court.
“This is a witch hunt and it’s a very corrupt trial,” he told reporters.
Inside, Trump flipped through papers while his legal team questioned a witness on the stand, accountancy professor Eli Bartov, who gave evidence to support Trump’s case.
Trump additionally faces federal charges for allegedly mishandling top-secret documents after he left the White House, and has been indicted for racketeering in Georgia on accusations that he tried to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state.
