Former President Donald Trump showed up at a Manhattan courtroom for the opening day of the New York civil case against him and his namesake company attacking the judge in the case and the New York attorney general at every possible moment.
Trump’s appearance turned the courthouse into an extension of the campaign trail, where he has railed against the four criminal indictments against him, and now, a civil case where Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud.
Inside the courtroom, Trump’s attorneys also sparred with the judge as opening statements began, a sign that they’re likely to take a combative approach with a trial that the judge expects to last into December.
Here’s what to know from the first day of Trump’s trial:
Trump’s arrival at the downtown Manhattan courthouse Monday morning turned the event into a spectacle of his own making. Even though he did not have to appear, the former president used the opportunity to bolster his presidential campaign.
The New York attorney general’s case is civil, not criminal, but it threatens his business in New York, and Trump’s appearance underscored that he views it as urgently as the other cases against him brought in other state and federal courts.
In front of the cameras and on his social media site, Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James for bringing the case against him. He attacked the judge for the ruling last week. And he sought to tie them to special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal indictments, even though they are unconnected.
“This has to do with election interference, plain and simple,” Trump said before walking into the courtroom. “They’re trying to damage me, so I don’t do as well as I’m doing in the election.”
When he left the courtroom on a lunch break,…
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