Donald Trump has appeared in court in Lower Manhattan for his New York civil fraud trial where a judge will determine what penalties he will face over his fraudulent business activities.
The former president took to Truth Social on Sunday night to attack both New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James ahead of his appearance.
The trial began 10-15 minutes late on Monday morning after Mr Trump stopped to give extensive remarks in the hall outside the courtroom. He baselessly claimed that the trial was a “scam and a sham” while further attacking the judge and Ms James. Proceedings are not being televised.
Judge Engoron last week found that the former president, his adult sons Donald Jr and Eric, his companies and executives, all overvalued the assets of their company for years to gain favorable loans and insurance.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.
