Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Mr Trump and his family business committed fraud. The judge is using this trial – focused on remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records – to decide on punishment.
The $250 million fraud case against the former president, his eldest sons and other Trump executives has been brought by the office of the New York attorney general, Letitia James. The trial is a bench trial, with no jury. Judge Engoron is presiding over the case, and will be the sole decider. Because this is a civil trial, Mr Trump will not be sent to prison if found guilty. While he is not required to appear in court, he has on several occasions, including for last week’s testimony by Michael Cohen, his former fixer.
The judge imposed a gag order on Mr Trump after he criticised the judge’s law clerk on social media. He has since fined the former president twice: first $5,000 after the offending post remained online, and then $10,000 for comments outside the court last week that he concluded amounted to a further attack.