NEW YORK, United States – Aggrieved and defiant, former United States President Donald Trump sat through hours of sometimes testy opening statements Monday in a fraud lawsuit that could cost him control of Trump Tower and other prized properties.

“Disgraceful trial,” he declared during a lunch break, after listening to lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James excoriate him as a habitual liar. The state’s lawsuit accuses the business mogul-turned-politician and his company of deceiving banks, insurers, and others by misstating his wealth in his financial statements for many years.

“They were lying year after year after year,” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James’ office, said as Trump sat at the defence table. He looked straight ahead, arms crossed, facing away from a screen that showed details of Wallace’s presentation.

Defence lawyers, in response, said the financial statements were legitimate. Trump’s holdings are “Mona Lisa properties” that can command top dollar, attorney Alina Habba said.

“That is not fraud. That is real estate,” she said, accusing the attorney general’s office of “setting a very dangerous precedent for all business owners in the state of New York”.

Trump voluntarily attended a trial that he called a “sham”, a “scam”, a “waste of the state’s time”, and “a continuation of the single-greatest witch hunt of all time”. The Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential race, Trump reiterated claims that James, a Democrat, is trying to thwart his bid to return to the White House.

“What we have here is an attempt to hurt me in an election,” he said outside court, adding: “I don’t think the people of this country are going to stand for it.”

Trump sneered at James as he passed her on his way out at lunchtime; she, by turn, left smiling. Meanwhile, his campaign immediately began fund-raising off the appearance.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that Trump committed fraud in his business dealings. If upheld on appeal the ruling could force Trump to give up New York properties including Trump Tower, a Wall Street office building, golf courses, and a suburban estate. Trump has called it a “a corporate death penalty” and insisted the judge is unfair and out to get him.

The non-jury trial concerns six remaining claims in the lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records, and insurance fraud. Engoron said that neither side sought a jury, and that state law doesn’t allow for juries when suits seek not only money but a court order setting out something a defendant must do or not do.

James is seeking US$250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.