“They were lying year after year after year,” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James' office, said in an opening statement as Trump sat at the defense table. He looked straight ahead, arms crossed, facing away from the screen that showed details of Wallace's presentation.
“It’s a scam. It’s a sham,” Trump said. He called the case “an attempt to hurt me in an election” and added: “I don’t think the people of this country are going to stand for it." It is a non-jury trial, so Engoron will decide on six other claims in the lawsuit. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
In her office's opening statement, Wallace placed Trump squarely at the center of the alleged financial fudging: “Every estimate was determined by Mr. Trump.”, has denied wrongdoing. He says that James and the judge are undervaluing such assets as his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Mar-a-Lago, and that it didn’t matter what he put on his financial statements because they have a disclaimer that says they shouldn’t be trusted.
James' lawsuit accused Trump and his company of a long list of falsehoods in the financial statements he gave to banks. In a recent court filing, James' office alleged Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion.