Brandon Livesay
Live reporter

The tone was set before court even started when former president Donald Trump lashed out at both the prosecution and the judge.

Trump called New York Attorney General Letitia James "racist" and "corrupt". During the day he also called for Judge Arthur Engoron to be disbarred.

The morning session was a back and forward between sides, with the judge occasionally needing to interject to set things straight.

It's shaping up to be a fiery trial.

If you want more information about the fraud case, you can watch the video at the top of this post.

And this article highlights five things you need to know about the court case.

Our court reporters today have been Nada Tawfik and Madeline Halpert.

And our writers were Brandon Drenon, Victoria Lindrea and Mike Wendling.

Thanks for joining us.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

As court wraps up, here's a look back at some of the key moments from the first day of Trump's civil fraud trial.

• New York Attorney General Letitia James told reporters before the proceedings began that "no one is above the law"
• Trump hit out at Judge Arthur Engoron just outside the courtroom, claiming he should be "disbarred"
• The former president appeared sombre upon entering the courtroom and remained relatively still during the day, occasionally whispering to lawyers
• Sparks also flew during opening remarks, when Trump attorney Alina Habba attacked James, accusing her of being politically motivated
• Engoron chided her for these comments, noting courts have already dismissed claims of political motivation
• We heard rather technical testimony from the New York attorney general's first witness, a former accountant for the Trump Organization

Donald Trump seemed in a better mood at the conclusion of the day compared to his earlier statements.

But he did once again bring up his frustrations at not having a jury in this trial, which he called "unusual".

The judge had earlier told the court that there was no jury because the lawyers did not request a jury trial.

Trump was also non-committal on if he would be back at court tomorrow, saying he might return but would rather be campaigning.

Court has finished for the day and Donald Trump is now speaking with the media. We will bring you his comments shortly.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

This afternoon's testimony has proven quieter than opening remarks.

For the past hour, we've been hearing from the first witness in the case, Donald Bender, as a lawyer for the attorney general's team asks some technical questions about the nature of his work for the Trump Organization.

His testimony could cap off the first day of Trump's civil fraud trial in New York, which is expected to finish about 16:30 ET (21:30 BST).

A new court sketch has been shared by artist Jane Rosenberg.

It shows the former president and Justice Arthur Engoron of the state Supreme Court as they listen to opening arguments from Trump's lawyer Alina Habba.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Bender is still giving testimony about being an accountant for Trump, but let's take a moment to talk about Alina Habba - a New Jersey-based lawyer who the New York Post labelled a "firebrand".

Habba is the most Googled name of people involved in this trial (outside of Donald Trump, of course).

Habba has become one of Trump's most trusted attorneys since she was hired in 2021.

Earlier in her career, Habba worked as an executive at the renowned New York fashion designer Marc Jacobs. The 39-year-old mother-of-three was a relatively unknown civil litigation lawyer before working for Trump.

Speaking outside of a Miami courthouse in Trump's Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, she fiercely defended the former president.

“The decision to pursue charges against President Trump while turning a blind eye to others is emblematic of the corruption that we have here,” Habba said.

Currently, Habba holds the managing partner position at Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, located near Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Mike Wendling
US disinformation reporter

When the court took a break, Trump took to his Truth Social network to once again rail against the judge and legal system.

He posted: “The highly political, Trump Hating Judge just stated that expert testimony is not evidence. Well, that means that every trial in American history has to be thrown out and started all over again!”

Trump appears to be referring not to an actual ruling about the admissibility of expert testimony, but to a back-and-forth between the judge and his lawyer this morning about the weight to be given to a valuation by a specific expert.

Remember, it’s the value of Trump’s properties that are key to this trial.

Trump seems to be exaggerating for effect – it's hard to believe he really thinks the judge could invalidate the entire US legal system – but surely the former president and his lawyers will continue to disagree with the judge, both inside the court and online.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Trump is occasionally glancing in Bender’s direction as he gives his testimony, other times looking straight ahead.

Bender worked for Mazars USA, an accounting, tax and consulting firm where Trump was his client.

He says he worked on Trump’s tax returns and did accounting work for Trump’s corporate entities.

Bender testified in the Trump Organization's criminal tax fraud trial in Manhattan last year, detailing several ways he said the company sought to avoid taxes on bonuses and other benefits.

Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to portray the New York judge presiding over this fraud case as biased against him.

One line of attack has been that there is no jury in the trial.

Earlier today, Judge Arthur Engoron noted that “nobody asked for” a jury trial.

It appears that Trump's lawyers failed to request one.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We're about to hear from the first witness of the trial, Donald Bender, a long-time accountant for the Trump Organization, who has been called by the New York Attorney General.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Trump and his team of lawyers have just walked back into court as we get ready for another couple of hours of proceedings.

Everyone has just risen as Justice Engoron arrives into the room.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier, the name Michael Cohen was brought up in court.

So who is he? Cohen is Donald Trump's former personal attorney, once known as his "fixer".

Cohen worked for Trump for more than a decade at the Trump Organization, as well as on the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and at the Republican National Committee.

He was sentenced to federal prison in December 2018 after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations and related crimes that happened while he was working for the ex-president.

Cohen then testified to a grand jury - transforming himself from Trump supporter to Trump critic.

He revealed details about alleged hush money payments he made to a porn star under Trump's instruction. His testimony led to Trump's eventual indictment on similar charges.

In a recent interview with MSNBC, Cohen said this New York civil fraud trial could be a “financial catastrophe” and a “deathblow to Donald”.

“I can tell you this has always been his biggest fear. That he would lose all of his money and he would no longer be considered the mega-billionaire,” Cohen said.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know about this morning's events.

At 10:00 local time Donald Trump arrived at New York's Supreme Court to attend the opening of his civil trial.

Here's what happened at the courthouse - and what the case is all about:

• Trump and his co-defendants - including his two adult sons - are accused of inflating prices of their properties to secure better loans and insurance deals, and to pay less tax

• Donald Trump accused New York's Distric Attorney of a politically-motivated "witch-hunt"
• His lawyers stated Trump made no intent to defraud
• Attorney General Letitia James declared that "no one is above the law"
• Photographers were given access to the courtoom on Monday, but cameras will not be allowed for the rest of the trial
• The trial is scheduled to last until 22 December and will focus on six claims, including falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements and insurance fraud

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

Court artist Jane Rosenberg drew this image from inside the New York courtroom.

It shows Donald Trump and Justice Arthur Engoron listening to opening arguments by Kevin Wallace (right), a lawyer in state Attorney General Letitia James's office.

We'll be relying on images like this going forward, as there will be no cameras in the courtroom from Tuesday onwards.

The former president just spoke to media for a brief moment outside the courtroom.

"This judge should be disbarred. He shouldn't be allowed to be a judge," Trump says.

It's one of the same lines of attack he used in his statement this morning before court started.

Trump has also been posting on his Truth Social media account in the past hour, saying once again that this is a "witch hunt".

Image source, Getty Images

While court takes a break, let's look back at some more of what Trump's lawyer Alina Habba had to say.

Habba was critical of the real estate valuations given to Trump's 17-acre Mar-a-Lago estate on the Florida coast.

Last week, Judge Engoron ruled that the estate was over-valued by as much as 2,300% in one financial statement. He said the estate was likely valued between $18m and $27.6m.

But Habba says the value is whatever someone is willing to pay.

She says Mar-a-Lago would sell for "at least a billion".

Hubba said Trump's Doral golf course would also sell for at least a billion dollars.

She calls them "Mona Lisa properties" and says it's not fraud, it's just how real estate works.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Court has just adjourned for a lunch break after three hours of opening remarks and other court matters. The morning session ended with attorneys and the judge addressing housekeeping issues.

The interactions occasionally turned tense as Trump attorney Kise argued with Judge Engoron about a range of matters, such as whether expert opinion counted as testimony. After they finished, Trump and his team exited the courtroom and Engoron announced that court will start back up again at 14:15 local time (19:15 BST).

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Trump's lawyer Alina Habba has just finished her opening remarks, during which she continued to argue the former president had committed "no fraud" and that the value of real estate assets is "malleable".

Both Attorney General Letitia James and Trump looked directly at Habba as she gave her statement.

After she finishes, Justice Engoron takes issue with several of Habba's points, including her attacks on James.

He notes that Trump has called the case a "political witch hunt" and says he has already dismissed claims that the suit was politically motivated.

Image source, Reuters