Once again we find Trump fighting not only the court of law, but also the court of public opinion, as he faces a civil lawsuit over claims of fraud relating to his net worth and the finances of his company. He’s facing these accusations in New York city.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already found Trump liable for fraud and the case has now progressed to the point where Attorney General Letita James is seeking a lawsuit of $250m (or £202m) from Trump to be paid from the profits of his fraudulent behaviour. The civil trial will also address six other fraud claims in the case and determine the penalties for them with Judge Engoron to issue the verdict on the non-jury trial.
Last week, we witnessed Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump take the stand to deny their role in the allegations made. Both brothers told the same story, pushing the blame onto their accountants despite the fact that there are multiple documents which both brothers have signed claiming the company was giving fair and accurate financial information.
Donald Trump has of course refuted the accusations and claimed the trial as “election interference,” and that it’s stopping him from campaigning in the run up to the 2024 elections. This is untrue as it’s a civil trial meaning he hasn’t been required to attend as of yet. Although, he has made his presence known by insulting and name-calling Judge Engoron and his colleagues just outside the courthouse to the media and sitting in on many of the witness statements made against him. After two days of his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, on the stand claiming that he was “tasked with manipulating” documents, Trump’s lawyers protested the claims. When Judge Engoron didn’t immediately rule in favour of Trump the 77-year-old stormed out of the courtroom.
Instead of actually campaigning, Trump appears to be leveraging media attention to help raise millions for his campaign. He is doing so by reinforcing the conspiracy rhetoric of “Kill Trump,” which he claims his enemies are planning to carry out with a, “corporate death penalty.”
He has posted on his social media account on Truth Social 115 times in the last month about the trial and sent out 300 fundraising emails appealing to people to “save America,” by donating to him.
The behaviour we’ve seen Trump exhibit over the course of this trial is unfortunately not surprising. His actions have more closely resembled that of a moody teenager than an ex-president and business tycoon but one thing we shouldn’t do is underestimate the man. He’s got a skill for manipulating millions of people into his pocket and with this skill was elected president.
The question we’re faced with isn’t whether he’s guilty or not anymore, because he is guilty, having been found liable for fraud. The question now remains how guilty he is as the trial proceeds with six other accusations of fraud in the coming weeks.