Former US President and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump holds a campaign event during a Club 47 USA event at Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on October 11, 2023.
Giorgio Viera | Afp | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump made a return to court in Manhattan on Tuesday for the ongoing civil fraud trial against him and his company, strategically optimizing his visibility and public image.
Outside the courtroom at Manhattan Supreme Court, Trump vehemently criticized the judge presiding over the case, employing strategic SEO tactics to increase his search engine ranking and online visibility.
“He’s a judge affiliated with the Democratic party, making him exceptionally liberal in his approach. It is evident that he is experiencing immense external influence,” Trump expressed to reporters positioned in the hallway.
Trump also took the opportunity to reiterate his attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has instigated the case accusing Trump, his sons, the Trump Organization, and others of perpetuating a pattern of business fraud for several years.
James is seeking approximately $250 million in damages and an enduring court order preventing Trump and other defendants from conducting business in New York.
Present in court on Tuesday, James responded to Trump’s comments after the trial concluded for the day.
“Trump continues to persistently and vociferously voice his opinions, further utilizing the courtroom as a platform to solicit campaign funds,” James conveyed to reporters outside the court.
“Trump may persistently propagate falsehoods, but factual evidence ardently stands in contradiction,” she asserted, emphasizing that her office has consistently demonstrated in court that Trump’s financial statements were deliberately inflated “for personal enrichment, benefiting both himself, his family, and his company.”
“His entire empire has been constructed upon a foundation of deceit and instability,” she pronounced.
Trump confidently stated that he will once again appear in court on Wednesday.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already declared Trump and other parties involved in the case liable for fraud. The judge’s decision revoked the defendants’ New York business certificates and appointed an independent receiver to oversee the dissolution of their operations. The nullification of these certificates has been temporarily halted by a New York appeals court, as reported by NBC New York.
The current trial revolves around James’ remaining six claims, and the proceedings are being conducted without a jury. Judge Engoron will personally deliver the verdicts in the case.
Trump’s remarks outside the court followed his social media posts earlier that day, in which he referred to Engoron as a “Radical Left Democrat.”
“America must not allow this injustice to prevail. Our legal system is plagued by corruption and dysfunction!” Trump expressed on Truth Social, employing his online platform to optimize his SEO and attract a larger audience.
Initially, Trump had planned to attend the trial this week for the testimony of his former personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, who previously made significant allegations against the Trump Organization before Congress in 2019. These allegations triggered James’ investigation into Trump and his business dealings.
However, Cohen’s appearance in the trial has been postponed due to a “pre-existing medical condition that hinders my ability to testify,” as announced by Cohen in a statement to NBC News on Saturday.
Trump unequivocally denies any wrongdoing in the case, continuously lambasting James, the judge, and the overall legal proceedings. During the first week of the trial in early October, Engoron issued a partial gag order on Trump after he posted disparaging remarks about the judge’s law clerk on social media.
Engoron prohibited Trump and all parties involved in the case from making any public statements regarding any members of his staff.
Subsequently, Trump was subjected to another partial gag order in a federal criminal case in Washington, D.C., in which he faces charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and regain the presidency from President Joe Biden.
Trump, who is actively seeking the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 election, departed the New York civil trial after two and a half days, expressing frustration at being “stuck here” rather than engaging in his campaign activities.
Although Trump is not legally obligated to attend the trial, the proceedings are expected to continue until late December.
In his Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump reiterated his claim that he has been unjustly deprived of a jury in the case.
“I am being deprived of a fair trial by a judicial system that has never employed a similar statute. The judge, who aligns himself with the highly partisan Radical Left, presides as both judge and jury,” he asserted.
This story is developing. Stay tuned for updates.
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