On the 2nd (local time), former U.S. President Donald Trump attended a civil trial on suspicion of fraud loans. Earlier, the New York State prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against him on charges of inflating the value of his real estate to secure bank loans favorably.

Before the trial began, former President Trump reiterated his claims of this being a 'witch hunt,' accusing New York State Attorney General Letitia James of being a 'racial opportunist' who is using him to run for New York governor. He declared the trial a 'scam' and a 'sham.' 

The trial, started last September when Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against former President Trump, revolves around allegations that he inflated the value of numerous assets, including Trump Tower in New York, luxurious mansions, apartments, buildings, and golf courses, totaling $2.2 billion (approximately 3 trillion won) when reporting to banks. New York state prosecutors claimed that former President Trump easily took out bank loans by inflating the value of Trump Tower in New York to $327 million (about 440 billion won), triple its actual value. James requested a fine of $250 million (approximately 340 billion won) and a permanent ban on Trump's business activities in New York."

Former President Trump caught attention by attending the civil trial in person, even though he was not obligated to do so. Experts interpret it as an attempt to deflect claims of political oppression and concerns about significant financial losses if he loses the case. Meanwhile, Judge Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan District Court, who was in charge of this trial, acknowledged some of the fraud allegations against former President Trump during a summary judgment on 26th of last month. Furthermore, Judge Engoron ordered that Trump is restrained from exercising control over his real estate holdings in New York State.

In response, former President Trump criticized Judge Engoron as a 'rogue judge,' and insisted that “He made judgments based on only a fraction of the actual value of the assets. His qualifications as a judge should be revoked.' As the trial unfolds unfavorably for the former President, the trial is scheduled to continue until December.

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