Donald Trump to appear in New York court for civil fraud trial

Donald Trump said he will appear in a New York court on Monday at the beginning of a civil fraud trial in which the former president will face what he said was a "sham" accusation that he fraudulently inflated the value of properties and other assets.

"I'm going to court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation," Trump said on his Truth Social account on Sunday.

Trump lashed out in his post at New York state attorney general Letitia James and the judge in the case, who Trump called "unfair, unhinged and vicious in his pursuit of me".

In a decision last week, New York state judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his family business fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and other assets to suit their business needs.

Trump and the other defendants have argued they never committed fraud.

"He values Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, at $18m (about R341m) when it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount. His valuations are fraudulent in pursuit of election interference, and worse. This whole case is sham. See you in court Monday morning," Trump said in his post, referring to the judge and the case.

Trump had been sued in September 2022 by state attorney James, who accused him, his adult sons, the Trump Organisation and others of "staggering fraud" in how they valued properties.

James is seeking at least $250m (about R4.7bn) in penalties, a ban on Trump and his sons, Donald Jnr and Eric, from running businesses in New York, and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organisation.

The case is unrelated to the four criminal indictments Trump faces, including for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.