Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

A tense atmosphere was expected in the courtroom today as Trump appeared face to face with the New York judge and attorney general he has spent weeks attacking on social media.

But during most of the court proceedings this morning, there have been minimal interactions between Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

As he entered the court this morning clad in his blue suit, Trump looked ahead as he walked past New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom Trump has called "biased and corrupt". Dressed in all black in the front row, James averted her gaze and looked ahead. Their paths did not cross for the rest of the opening statements.

As for Judge Engoron - who Trump has referred to on social media as "deranged" - the former president has occasionally glanced in the justice's direction as he addresses the court, mostly sitting still and appearing relatively subdued.

We have been seeing some remarkable photographs from inside the court room today, but that won't be the case for the whole trial.

Judge Engoron says cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom for the rest of the trial - which is expected to last until 22 December.

We will be relying on court sketch artists after today for any glimpses inside the proceedings.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

Kise has just concluded his opening remarks. He claimed the court will hear testimony from people involved in Trump's loan decisions, who he says will argue that their financial statements were not misleading.

Trump did not violate loan agreements or make any false statements, he said.

As he spoke, Trump's son Eric, sitting in the front row, occasionally glanced at him.

The New York Attorney General has listed Eric and Trump's other children, Don Jr and Ivanka, as well as Trump himself, in a list of dozens of potential witnesses to be called in the case.

Let's take a moment to explain why Donald Trump is facing this civil lawsuit.

The former president is accused of committing repeated and prolonged fraud through his business empire Trump Organization.

According to New York prosecutors, for years Trump deceived banks, insurers and others by largely overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth.

They say he did so in order to secure more funding for the Trump Organization.

New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has already found Trump liable for one fraud claim.

Engoron must now decide on six other claims:

• Falsifying business records
• Conspiracy to falsify business records
• Issuing false financial statements
• Conspiracy to falsify false financial statements
• Insurance fraud
• Conspiracy to commit insurance fraud

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Kise is continuing to lay out Trump's defence, claiming that "banks and insurers know that [financial] statements are estimates".

"They are not absolutes," he says.

He also attacks Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, calling him a "serial liar".

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Trump's attorney, Christopher Kise, has begun his opening remarks.

Kise says Trump has “made a fortune being right about real estate investments".

He adds that the claims in the case involve "only a few successful and profitable loan transactions".

Kise also claims Trump made no intent to defraud, and there are "no victims" in the case.

Image source, Getty Images

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

After that analysis from Nada Tawfik, we now return to the courtroom where allegations against Trump and his co-defendants are being outlined. Laywer Kevin Wallace lists various properties that he alleges Trump's team inflated to secure better loan terms.

“Year after year, loan after loan, [defendants] misrepresented assets to obtain favourable loans,” Wallace says.

During these 30 minutes of remarks, Trump has for the most part sat still and looked straight ahead, occasionally whispering to his lawyers, while Attorney General Letitia James kept her eyes on Wallace and a visual presentation that accompanied her team’s opening statements.

Image source, Getty Images

Fact checking Trump (part 2)published at 16:12 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

16:12 BST 2 October 2023

Nada Tawfik
NY correspondent reporting from court

Let's continue to look at the claims Trump made before court today. We covered three points in the previous post.

Fourth, he wrongly stated the judge devalued his properties. However, the valuations cited by the judge came from assessors.

Take for instance Mar a Lago, it was the Palm Beach County Assessor - not the judge - that appraised the market value of Mar-a-Lago at between $18m-$27.6m (£14.5m-£22.5m). Trump continues to claim it is probably worth 50 to 100 times more.

Fifth, Donald Trump says he didn’t leverage the value of his brand in his financials. Yet, the judge’s ruling noted evidence that from 2013-2020, his financial statements included a 15% or 30% premium based on the Trump brand for seven golf clubs.

On top of that, the judge says the statements “double dip,” by also suggesting that, “The goodwill attached to the Trump name has significant value that has not been reflected in the preparation of this financial statement.”

Fact checking Trump's statement before he walked into court (part 1)published at 16:05 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

16:05 BST 2 October 2023

Nada Tawfik
NY correspondent reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

There were several points that Donald Trump misrepresented when he spoke to the media before going into court.

First, he believes there is no case because he repaid all of his loans to the banks. However, under this NY statute, the attorney general only had to show that he committed ongoing fraud, not that there were any victims.

Second, he also claimed this was an attempt to hurt him in an election. But the investigation into these claims began four and a half years ago, after his former fixer Michael Cohen went public with the Trump Organization’s accounting practices.

Third, Donald Trump also contends there was a “buyer beware clause” in his contracts that rendered them useless. But the judge was clear in his ruling last week that non-party disclaimers from his accounting firm Mazars do not insulate him from liability, as they plaint state that “Donald J. Trump is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statement…”

A slew of cameras inside the courtroom captured the initial moments as Donald Trump and the judge presiding over the case sat across from each other for the first time.

New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has already found Trump and his organisation liable of fraud.

Engoron, appearing to be in a more light-hearted mood than Trump, brandished a quick smirk before sending cameras out of the courtroom.

Trump wore an increasingly familiar grimace that resembled his Georgia mugshot.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James' team, is following up with opening remarks.

He notes that the judge has already found Trump liable for fraud.

"What remains for us for a trial?” he asks.

He then goes over the six more remaining fraud claims against Trump that the trial will focus on.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Justice Engoron has just begun his opening statements before Trump and James' teams are set to give theirs.

The trial is scheduled to last from today until 22 December 2023, the Friday before Christmas, he says. Engoron says he’ll hear the case Monday through Thursday all day and in the mornings on Friday.

“We’re ready to go,” he says of the case.

He's now going through the charges against Trump.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the charges against Donald Trump, spoke this morning before heading into court.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Justice Arthur Engoron has just walked into the room and has taken his seat.

The first item the court is dealing with is whether cameras should be allowed in the courtroom today.

Engoron says he has to deny the request.

The judge is allowing several pool photographers to come in.

Speaking to reporters shortly before entering the courtroom, Trump criticised the judge and the New York attorney general who brought the case, which he said is politically motivated.

He's also said something that might be a preview of his legal defence, noting his financial statements include a disclaimer.

“When you take a look at the financial statement, don’t believe anything you read," he said. "This is what's called a full disclaimer."

"It says go out and do your own research."

It seems like an unusual strategy - to undermine the validity of your own statements - but it's not the first time Trump has made this point.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

Trump has just made his way into the courtroom, looking dismayed as he walks past New York Attorney General Letitia James, who continues to stare straight ahead.

He spoke to reporters for several minutes outside the room before entering, repeating previous claims that the case against him is a sham.

In brief remarks before entering the courtroom, Trump tells the media: "It's a scam. It's a sham. Just so you know, my financial statements are phenomenal."

Former President Donald Trump has arrived outside the courtroom in New York, where he is making some brief remarks to media. His legal team, and his son Eric, have already filed in.

You can watch Trump's arrival live on the feed at the top of this page.

Right now the answer is: no.

But last week a group of American news organisations petitioned Judge Arthur Engoron to allow live coverage of opening and closing arguments and parts of the trial other than witness testimony.

Live TV coverage isn’t generally allowed in New York state courts, but judges have the discretion to let cameras in, in some cases.

The group of news organisations has argued in a letter to the judge that if there’s ever a case where arguments should be broadcast live, it’s this one: “The need for the broadest possible public access cannot be overstated. Quite literally, the world is watching these proceedings.”

We’ll see if the judge agrees.

Nada Tawfik
NY correspondent reporting from court

The vast majority of the handful of protestors gathered outside the courthouse do not support Donald Trump, the former Republican president, which is to be expected in this largely Democratic city.

After the attorney general bringing the case spoke briefly on the court steps, they chanted, “Thank you Letitia James.”

James had said: "My message is simple. No matter how powerful you are no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law".

Some of the protest signs show Trump behind bars or have phrases such as “lies have consequences” and “disqualify Trump".

There is however, one big MAGA flag that reads "Trump or death".

Image source, Reuters