Summary

  • Donald Trump has testified in a New York court as he battles a civil fraud trial that threatens his real estate empire

  • He repeatedly clashed with the judge, who asked Trump's lawyers to 'control your client' during a series of heated exchanges

  • The former president is accused of massively inflating the value of properties by over $2bn (£1.65bn) in order to secure favourable loans

  • Losing the trial could result in a $250m fine, a ban on Trump doing business in his home state, and losing control of iconic properties like Trump Tower

  • The judge has already ruled that Trump significantly inflated the value of his properties

  • Trump and his adult sons have denied accusations they falsified business records and committed insurance fraud, among other claims

  1. Trump spars with judge, defends his businesspublished at 21:41 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Brandon Livesay
    Reporting from New York

    Former US President Donald Trump is questioned next to Judge Arthur Engoron, during the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York CityImage source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

    The former US president sat at the witness stand in New York Supreme Court on Monday, arms crossed, and gave testimony under oath.

    Donald Trump's four hours of evidence varied from outright denials of the allegations against him and his company, to boasts about how great his Scottish golf course is ("unbelievable", we were told).

    Thrown in the mix were attacks against the state attorney general and the judge.

    It gives us a glimpse into what we can expect for Trump’s other upcoming court trials, which are peppered throughout 2024 - a US election year where he is a leading presidential candidate.

    But in this trial, all eyes now turn to Ivanka Trump’s testimony. That is scheduled for Wednesday.

    Today's court reporters were Madeline Halpert, Chloe Kim and Kayla Epstein. Our writers were Adam Durbin and Tara Mewawalla.

    For a wrap of Trump’s day in court, check out this article and this analysis.

    Thanks for joining us.

  2. Trump's testimony recappedpublished at 21:23 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Chloe Kim
    Reporting from court

    Here's a recap of what we heard in court today:

    • Trump maintained that his net worth was far greater than financial statements and says the banks were "thrilled" with loans being paid
    • Trump made multiple attacks on Judge Engoron and Attorney General Letitia James - calling the AG a "political hack"
    • Trump also reiterated his company's use of a disclaimer clause - which says banks should do their own "due diligence"
    • He told the court that "everybody" at the Trump Organization was responsible for reporting fraud

    You can read more here.

  3. Attorney General says Trump 'rambled' and 'hurled insults'published at 20:55 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    We're now hearing from Attorney General Letitia James, who is speaking from the steps outside of the supreme court.

    A small crowd of supporters could he heard cheering as she approached microphones.

    James starts by saying Donald Trump "rambled" and "hurled insults", but that was what her team had expected.

    "I will not be bullied, I will not be harassed. This case will go on."

    She once again says "the numbers don't lie", and that her team's evidence showed Trump had falsely inflated his assets to "enrich himself and his family".

    James said she looks forward to hearing Ivanka Trump's testimony on Wednesday, and then her team will plan to close their case.

  4. Trump speaks outside courtroom, calls trial a 'scam'published at 20:48 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Media caption,

    Donald Trump calls his fraud trial a 'scam' after testifying

    Donald Trump has spoken with media outside the courtroom after testifying for about four hours today.

    The former president says “it went very well” for him, but also called it a “very sad day for America”.

    Trump said he wanted to be in court today “because it’s a scam”, and he went on to say his testimony was “very conclusive”.

    Trump once again brought up the valuation of his private club Mar-a-Lago, saying it was worth “50-100 times” more than the $18m valuation heard in court.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James walked out of court a few minutes later, but did not speak with media.

  5. Trump leaves courtpublished at 20:38 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Kayla Epstein
    Reporting from court

    Donald Trump strolls out of court, with a faint smile, trailed by an entourage of Secret Service and attorneys.

    As he steps over the threshold, his face is lit up by the flashbulbs of the press assembled outside.

  6. Trump team talks about mistrial motionpublished at 20:36 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    Trump attorney Christopher Kise has just said that he may want to mention information barred by the gag order in a motion for a mistrial.

    Alina Habba, another Trump lawyer, seems to confirm the team will make the motion and says they want to reference communications between Engoron and his law clerk.

    The judge says he'll allow Trump's team to make that motion in writing.

    "See, I knew there'd be a love fest," Engoron concludes.

  7. Trump attorneys continue to speak with judgepublished at 20:29 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    Trump's attorneys are now taking some time to discuss housekeeping matters with the judge, and in particular, Engoron's gag order.

    Trump attorney Christopher Kise is unhappy that Engoron has imposed a gag order on the legal team which restricts them from speaking about his clerk.

    The gag order was sparked after a heated exchange last week in which the judge accused Kise of misogyny because of criticisms the attorney made about Engoron's female law clerk.

    "I'm going to protect my staff," Engoron repeats again today.

    Trump is still seated at the defence table as this debate drags on.

  8. Trump defends former chief financial officerpublished at 20:25 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    Before Trump finished his testimony, prosecutors were asking him about former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.

    Weisselberg pleaded guilty and served time for tax fraud related to his work at the Trump Organization.

    His name has been brought up frequently throughout the trial and he also testified before Michael Cohen, telling the court he knew Donald Trump was inflating the size of his Manhattan penthouse in Trump Tower.

    On the stand, Trump defended his former employee, claiming people "went after him vigorously and violently because he happened to work for me".

    "I feel very badly about that whole situation," he says.

  9. Trump's testimony is donepublished at 20:19 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023
    Breaking

    Kayla Epstein
    Reporting from court

    The attorney general's office says they have no further questions.

    Donald Trump's team declines to cross examine him. He is excused from the stand, as his testimony is now over.

  10. Judge calls Trump a 'broken record'published at 20:14 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    On the stand, Trump has started to air his complaints with the case once again.

    “This case is a disgrace," the former president says. He goes on to claim there is "murder on the streets of New York and the attorney general here is watching every little move”.

    During this outburst, Judge Engoron looks ahead with a straight expression and remains silent.

    When Trump has finished, Engoron says he defers to the prosecution on how much they want to allow Trump to speak off topic.

    Engoron says Trump is a "broken record", to which Trump replies that the prosecution "keeps asking the same questions, over and over".

    Attorney Kevin Wallace keeps his calm, saying the questioning is "very close to the end".

  11. Trump may attack judge to 'play the victim' - law professorpublished at 20:10 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    US reporter

    Trump's testimony so far seems to suggest that "he does not take the trial very seriously," according to a US law professor.

    Carl Tobias, law professor at the University of Richmond, told me that Trump appears to be "jousting" and "taunting" Judge Engoron - despite the fact that he will ultimately be the one to decide the fate of the case.

    "Trump's behaviour suggests that he may view the trial as an opportunity to play the victim of an unfair justice system and, thus, attempt to capitalise on the trial to score political points".

    Professor Tobias added that Trump "may also be hoping to win on appeal" and has already appealed Judge Engoron's finding of fraud.

    "But that approach may be risky," he added.

  12. What the prosecution is doing with these documentspublished at 20:08 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Chloe Kim
    Reporting from court

    The prosecution is trying to display, through these series of documents, that banks clearly kept asking for financial statements.

    Trump had previously said banks don't really look at those.

    Trump says, "I could have done different things".

    He says if there was a problem, he could have given the banks cash or not borrowed the money.

  13. A series of signaturespublished at 19:58 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Kayla Epstein
    Reporting from court

    Kevin Wallace has been showing Trump a series of agreements for loans, which state his business is required to maintain a certain net worth and that his financial statements are "true and correct".

    The documents relate to properties like his hotels in DC and Chicago, and all bear Trump's signature. By signing those documents, Trump was agreeing to those terms.

    We're getting into the weeds now, but also heading towards the crux of the attorney general's argument - that Trump submitted misleading financial information to banks to secure favourable loans.

  14. Trump claims his net worth is greater than financial statementspublished at 19:55 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Chloe Kim
    Reporting from court

    Donald Trump in courtImage source, EPA

    Trump is on a bit of a tangent now, saying his net worth was "far greater" than the financial statements.

    He is saying that he could have added brand value to financial statements, but he didn't.

    He says in either event, his net worth is more.

    Trump concludes by saying: "so you have no case".

  15. Trump's return to the stand is more subduedpublished at 19:44 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Kayla Epstein
    Reporting from court

    So far, Trump has been far more subdued in the afternoon session.

    He's mostly answering prosecutor Kevin Wallace's questions with brief, on-topic responses - just like Judge Ergonon repeatedly asked him to do all morning.

    At one point Trump waits to answer because he believes Judge Engoron had not ruled on an objection.

    When the judge indicates he can proceed, Trump defers.

    "Sorry," he told Judge Engoron, giving him the nod.

    It's a very different tone from his repeated political attacks on the judge that characterised the morning schedule.

    But we're 15 minutes in, and Trump's demeanour could change at any moment.

  16. Trump says banks were 'thrilled' by loanspublished at 19:40 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    Prosecutors are continuing to go through a series of documents with Trump about several loan agreements, including Trump International Hotel in Chicago.

    Kevin Wallace is asking Trump about whether statements of financial condition were included in the loan.

    Trump is evading the issue of the financial statements and continuing to talk about how much cash and other assets he has.

    “I could’ve just shown a couple of assets and they would have been very satisfied," he says.

    "This loan was paid off in full," he adds. "The bank was thrilled. It was a very successful loan as opposed to other people that don’t have successful loans."

  17. Trump says he had more than $300m in cash when he got a loanpublished at 19:32 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Chloe Kim
    Reporting from court

    The line of questioning after lunch has been all about Donald Trump and Deutsche Bank.

    The prosecution is highlighting a term loan agreement from 2012, between Trump and the bank.

    The agreement said he must maintain a minimum net worth of $2.5bn. Trump says he was aware of this.

    Trump says he had about $300-400m in cash at the time. He tells the court that Deutsche Bank wanted to make sure there was substantial cash.

    “Yeah I had a lot of cash,” he says. "That’s all they cared about."

  18. Another thumbs up, but no statement from Trumppublished at 19:18 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Madeline Halpert
    Reporting from court

    Former US President Donald Trump arrives from a break to attend the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., November 6, 2023Image source, Reuters

    The former president has just walked slowly back to the stand as prosecutors resume their questioning.

    When he walked into the courtroom he did not say anything to the media waiting outside, but did flash cameras another thumbs up.

  19. Trump is back for more questioningpublished at 19:14 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Chloe Kim
    Reporting from court

    We're back from a lunch break. Trump has just returned to the courtroom for more questioning.

    Stay with us.

  20. Anti-Trump protesters gather outside courtpublished at 19:06 Greenwich Mean Time 6 November 2023

    Pratiksha Ghildial
    Reporting from court

    A sign saying Trump lies all the time which is in front of a New York courthouse

    A group of anti-Trump protesters have gathered outside the courthouse.

    Michael Handy, who is wearing a "Army Veteran" hat, says he hopes the former president is held accountable for what he says are financial crimes committed by him.

    "I hope he goes to jail, though not sure if that will happen. I hope it costs him a lot of money."

    Handy also says he hopes Trump is not re-elected in 2024.

    Earlier, protesters could be heard chanting "no one is above the law".

    Holding a placard that shows Trump behind bars, Julie DeLaurier tells me she has been taking it to protests for six years.

    She says Trump is not welcome in New York and that he has "pulled off the greatest con in history".

    Another large sign draped in front of the courthouse says "Trump lies all the time".

    Trump has strongly denied any wrongdoing.