Donald Trump 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a "Commit To Caucus" rally at the Jackson County Fairgrounds on Sept. 20, 2023 in Maquoketa, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images, File)
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Former President Donald Trump appeared in a New York courthouse on Monday as he, his family and his companies face a $250 million lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
James filed a lawsuit last year against the Trump Organization, Trump and his adult sons, accusing them of lying to lenders and insurers about the value of their properties for years to get more favorable terms. She is seeking $250 million in damages and asking a court to bar the Trumps from running businesses in New York.
Trump attorney calls loan transactions in question ‘successful,’ ‘profitable’
Update 12:20 p.m. EDT Oct. 2: Chris Kise, a lawyer representing Trump, said during opening statements on Monday that evidence will show that the asset valuations in question comply with regulatory requirements, CNN reported.
“President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world,” Kise said in court, according to the news network. “He has made a fortune literally about being right about real estate.”
He said that Trump did not intend to defraud the banks, calling loan transactions “successful” and “profitable,” NBC News reported.
“The banks made well over $100 million,” he said.
Attorney for AG’s office asks judge to bar Trump from doing business in NY
Update 12:10 p.m. EDT Oct. 2: Kevin Wallace, an attorney for the New York Attorney General’s Office, asked a judge to block Trump from doing business in New York in opening statements at the start of the former president’s civil trial, CNN reported.
“While it may be one thing to exaggerate for Forbes magazine... you cannot do it while conducting business in the state of New York,” Wallace said in court, according to CNN.
“Year after year, loan after loan, the defendants misrepresented Mr. Trump’s net worth to maintain those favorable interest rates.”
See photos from Monday’s court appearance
Update 11:50 a.m. EDT Oct. 2: Photos showed Trump and James as they listened to court proceedings Monday in New York.
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Trump appears in court for civil trial Court police prepare for the arrival of former President Donald Trump to New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against him on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Trump and his associates are being charged with inflating assets in fraudulent financial statements. A ruling last week by a judge determined that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Court police prepare for the arrival of former President Donald Trump to New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against him on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Trump and his associates are being charged with inflating assets in fraudulent financial statements. A ruling last week by a judge determined that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial New York Police Department officers outside the New York State Supreme Court Building in New York, NY on Monday, October 2, 2023. Donald Trump will face off against New York Attorney General Letitia James starting today in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state. (Bing Gua/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Court police prepare for the arrival of former President Donald Trump to New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against him on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Trump and his associates are being charged with inflating assets in fraudulent financial statements. A ruling last week by a judge determined that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Lawyers and others arrive at New York State Supreme Court for the start of the civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Trump and his associates are being charged with inflating assets in fraudulent financial statements. A ruling last week by a judge determined that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial A box is carried as the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump is set to begin at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates after ruling that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Trump Tower in New York, US, on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Donald Trump will face off against New York Attorney General Letitia James starting today in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state. (Michael Nagle,/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs Trump Tower on October 02, 2023 in New York City. (James Devaney/GC Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Alina Habba, lawyer of former president Donald Trump, arrives to court in New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against his client on October 2, 2023 in New York City. Donald Trump faces fresh legal danger as a civil fraud trial against the former president and two of his sons begins in New York, threatening the Republican frontrunner's business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House with four criminal cases looming. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Attorney General Letitia James arrives for the start of the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at New York State Supreme Court to start the civil fraud trial against him on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for the start of his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for the start of his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks outside New York Supreme Court ahead of former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial on October 2, 2023 in New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday that "justice will prevail" in a civil fraud trial set to kick off later in the morning against former US president Donald Trump and two of his sons. (John Lamparski/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former US President Donald Trump (C) sits with his attorneys inside the courtroom during his civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on October 2, 2023. Former US president Donald Trump was in court Monday for what he slammed as a "sham" civil fraud trial against him and two of his sons, with the case threatening the Republican's business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House. (Brendan McDermid/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in the courtroom for the start of his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Brendan McDermid/Pool via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial New York Attorney General Letitia James (C) listens during former U.S. President Donald Trump's civil fraud case at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on Oct. 2, 2023. Trump was in court Monday for what he slammed as a "sham" civil fraud trial against him and two of his sons, with the case threatening the Republican's business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House. (Photo by BRENDAN MCDERMID / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN MCDERMID/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (Brendan McDermid/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Protestors hold banners before the arrival of former President Donald Trump to New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against him on October 2, 2023 in New York City. Donald Trump faces fresh legal danger as a civil fraud trial against the former president and two of his sons begins in New York, threatening the Republican frontrunner's business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House with four criminal cases looming. (Kena Betan/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump appears in court for civil trial Protestors hold placards before the arrival of former President Donald Trump to New York State Supreme court for the start of the civil fraud trial against him on October 2, 2023 in New York City. Donald Trump faces fresh legal danger as a civil fraud trial against the former president and two of his sons begins in New York, threatening the Republican frontrunner's business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House with four criminal cases looming. (Kena Betan/AFP via Getty Images)
James: ‘No one is above the law’
Update 10:15 a.m. EDT Oct. 2: Speaking outside the courthouse on Monday, James said Trump and others charged in the civil case “committed persistent and repeated fraud.”
“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, and it is my responsibility and my duty and my job to enforce it,” she said. “The law is both powerful and fragile, and today in court, we will prove our case.”
"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."
— New York Attorney General Letitia James, outside the court where Donald Trump's latest trial is set to begin pic.twitter.com/TyhJmd7Noz
Update 10:05 a.m. EDT Oct. 2: Trump called the civil case against him “a scam and a sham” ahead of the start of his trial in New York City on Tuesday.
“This is a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time,” the former president told reporters Monday.
Original report: Trump shared his intent to appear in court Sunday on social media, writing, “I’m going to Court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation.”
He denied wrongdoing and accused James and Judge Arthur Engoron of being biased against him.
“THIS WHOLE CASE IS A SHAM!!!” he wrote. “See you in Court – Monday morning.”
In a statement released Monday, the attorney general said that for years, Trump “falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system.”
“In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial,” she said.
“No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country.”
The start of the civil trial comes after an appeals court last week rejected an attempt by Trump’s attorneys to delay it. On Tuesday, Engoron ruled that Trump had committed fraud while building his real estate empire, years before he became president, and that no trial was needed to prove the claims at the center of James’ suit, The New York Times reported.
Trump and his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were listed as possible witnesses in the case, although it was not immediately clear whether they would be called to testify, according to CNN, Engoron has said that the trial could go on until December, The Associated Press reported.
