How Donald Trump is using courthouse appearances as part of his campaign
The former president wasn't required to turn up to court today but when he did all eyes were on him, ITV News' US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports from New York
I managed to get only the most fleeting glimpse of Donald Trump entering court today.
His golden quiff crowning a blue suit as he entered New York's State Supreme Court in the financial district of Manhattan.
Moments earlier the woman who has brought this case against him, Democrat Attorney General Letitia James, walked confidently past the hushed press pack.
She gave a brief and pointed statement about how no one was above the law, before going inside to face the man she is seeking to bring to justice.
Unlike almost all of his many trials, this is not a criminal matter. It is a civil case being heard by a judge without a jury.
Justice Arthur Engoron appeared briefly on camera today, smiling before the hearing started.
But despite his cheery demeanour, he has already shown he is a tough arbiter of this complex financial case.
Engoron has already made damning rulings against the Trump organisation in pre-trial decisions, concluding that the former President and his two sons, Don Junior and Eric, committed fraud by overstating the value of properties in the Trump portfolio.
ITV News' US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports from outside the court in New York
Trump is accused of overstating the size of properties such as his Florida Estate, Mar-a-Lago and his triplex penthouse in Trump Tower, in order to get preferential loan rates from banks.
Trump faces substantial jeopardy and humiliation.
He stands to lose control of his business empire and could be banned from operating businesses in New York.
Unlike the criminal cases he is fighting, this one does not risk his liberty, but instead his commercial reputation and his most cherished assets.
The man who built his name on property deals, emblazoning it across numerous skyscrapers, may be forced to sell the remaining real estate in New York that he owns.
There was nothing compelling Trump to appear today. But he knows each time he comes to court, the cash rolls into his political campaign.
He knows his battle for the White House is now being fought in courthouses across the country.
This isn’t harming his campaign for re-election; it is his campaign for re-election.
He is framing each case as an example of government corruption and overreach, claiming the establishment is conspiring to thwart his re-election.
Former federal prosecutor Shan Wu explains what Trump has already been found guilty for in the civil case and what it means for his business
His message to his base is simple: they’re coming for me first, but you might be next.
It is powerful and has seen his campaign coffers swollen by tens of millions.
His lead for the Republican nomination seems unassailable. But between now and next November, there are some very choppy legal waters.
Keeping his campaign afloat, while continuing to ride the wave of voter disaffection won’t be easy.
However, if we have learnt anything from his rise to power, it is that he has the capacity to upend orthodoxy and defy the political gravity which would have pulled many other candidates back to earth with a thud.
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