Trump: I wanted to watch this witch hunt for myself

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On the first day of the trial, which began in Manhattan State Supreme Court, Trump voluntarily attended the hearing and sat at the defense bench to listen to presentations by the prosecution and his lawyers.

Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the Attorney General's office, made the opening statement in the case, stating that Trump and his family have lied for years about real estate values in the real estate industry.

Wallace noted that Trump's company made 100s of millions of dollars in loan purchases by overvaluing real estate and said, "They hid their weaknesses and convinced these banks to take hundreds of millions of dollars in risk. The defendants can exaggerate to Forbes magazine or on television, but they can't do that when they're doing business in New York."

Trump's lead attorney Christopher Kise also argued that there was no objective assessment of real estate prices, saying, "Any difference in values does not amount to fraud. The statements in the financial statements are estimates and the lending banks have to do their own analysis."

Kise emphasized that no one was harmed by Trump's financial statements and that both sides gained by repaying the loans received from the banks.

"I wanted to watch this witch hunt for myself"

Speaking to the cameras during his lunch break for the day-long hearing, Trump harshly criticized Attorney General Letitie James and Judge Arthur Engoron.

Claiming that James' allegations against him, his family and his companies were "politically motivated," Trump said, "If I hadn't run for president again, if I hadn't been ahead in the polls, none of these cases would have happened."

Stating that he came to the hearing by saying, "I wanted to watch this witch hunt for myself," Trump said, "This is a pure witch hunt to interfere with the US elections. It is completely illegal."

Describing Judge Engoron as a "democrat" and an "agent", Trump said, "This is a judge who should be impeached. This is a judge who can be impeached because of what some people did. We will be judges too." We've been here for months with a judge who has already decided the case. This is ridiculous."

Trump also argued that the ongoing civil case came from the Justice Department, saying, "They are coordinating this entirely in Washington. Everything is run by the corrupt Justice Department in Washington. Everything goes through them."

No jail time was foreseen as a result of the trial

Trump attended the afternoon session of the hearing and sat next to his lawyers again to listen to the arguments of the prosecution, defense and witnesses.

Donald Bender, Trump's retired accountant, testified as the first prosecution witness. Bender said that he made all his accounting calculations according to Trump's statement: "If I saw something that didn't make sense, if I saw something that bothered me, I would ask them."

The trial is expected to last until mid-December, when Judge Engoron will decide how much to fine the Trump companies and whether to revoke their licenses to do business in New York state.

Because this is a civil fraud case, not a criminal one, and the defense did not request a jury, there will be no jury. No one is expected to face jail time as a result of the trial.

As Trump entered the courtroom in the morning, he told reporters the case was a "hoax and a sham" and called it "the continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time."

New York Attorney General Letitia James also emphasized in her introduction that no one in the country should be above the law, no matter how rich they are, even if they are a former president.

The former US President, who has previously failed to attend most of the cases brought against him on charges of "sexual harassment" and "tax evasion", announced that he would attend today's hearing, although he was not obliged to testify. It was considered a "surprise development".

Fraud case against Trump

In the indictment, which alleges that Trump, his three children and his company overstated his wealth by $3.6 billion, Attorney General James asks the judge to ban Trump and his children from ever starting a company or buying commercial real estate in New York again for 5 years and to impose a fine of $250 million.

Judge Arthur Engöron ruled that the former president and the "Trump Organization" defrauded banks, insurers and businessmen by overvaluing and exaggerating their assets, in a case that accused Trump of "defrauding numerous individuals and entities in the real estate industry for years" by overvaluing and exaggerating their net worth in deals and financing documents.