Trump trial news: Trump heads to court for New York civil fraud trial

Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

TV crews are gathered in the hallway outside the courtroom and Trump may make remarks. Judge Arthur Engoron will decide if cameras will also be allowed in court for the trial.

Eric Trump led the first group fo the Trump team into the courtroom.

New York Attorney General Letitia James addressed reporters on the steps of the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

She pointedly said in part: “No matter how much money you think you have, no one is above the law.”

AG James is now in the courtroom with her team.

Donald Trump has departed his home at Trump Tower to head to court in Lower Manhattan for his $250m civil fraud trial.

This will be the former president’s fifth court appearance this year.

The motorcade rolled out from the side entrance to Trump Tower and headed towards the eastside of Manhattan to take the FDR downtown.

Protestors demonstrating against Donald Trump ahead of his Manhattan civil trial on Monday gathered outside of the courthouse where the ex-president is expected to appear later today.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward is down at the courthouse this morning and shared some insight about the early-morning protestors:

A group of protesters are blocking the street in front of the courthouse chanting “Trump lies all the time”. They said NYPD didn’t give them a dedicated space for a demonstration.

After a few minutes, the NYPD community affairs officers moved the protest out of the street. Where traffic continued as normal

Apotentially devastating ruling against Donald Trump has pierced the heart of a decades-old narrative he used to boost his national profile and seduce millions of voters to support his campaigns for the presidency.

That persona was built on a “fantasy” made up of cheating, lying and outright fraud, according to a New York judge presiding over a blockbuster lawsuit from the state’s attorney general, whose investigation revealed the former president, his adult sons, businesses and chief executives “grossly and materially inflated” assets over a decade.

They defrauded banks and insurers by overvaluing properties by billions of dollars, exaggerating the state of his wealth to fraudulently obtain favourable insurance deals, financing and other transactions, according to the lawsuit.

Mr Trump spent those decades navigating threats that would reveal his reputation as a fraud, but a brutal 35-page decision from Judge Arthur F Engoron – if allowed to stand – not only could expose the former president’s alleged history of corruption, it might also take his business empire down with him. Mr Trump himself condemned the decision as a plan to “KILL TRUMP”.

New York attorney general Letitia James released a statement about the civil trial against Donald Trump, which is expected to begin on Monday.

“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system. We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. 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.

No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country. The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does.”

“We won Iowa twice, and we’re gonna win it again by A LOT!” Mr Trump said on Sunday.

Outside of the Southern District of New York courthouse, reporters line up to enter for the first day of trial in Donald Trump’s civil case.

Brian Klaas, an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, argued on X on Sunday that the press has “managed to ‘both sides’ an 80 year old mainstream Democrat with a 77 year old racist authoritarian fraudster, liable for rape, who sought to overturn an election to stay in power, and is facing 91 felony criminal charges”.

“The press has succumbed to what I call ‘the banality of crazy,’ in which they breathlessly report on every minor Biden gaffe, but barely cover Trump calling to execute generals or shoplifters. This numbing effect helps Trump—and warps American politics,” he added.

Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that farmers and builders who have never cried before approach him crying to thank him for what he’s done.