Trump, 77, dressed in a dark blue suit and tie with an American flag on his lapel, was sworn in shortly after 10:00AM Eastern Time or 1500 GMT to testify in the Manhattan courtroom before Judge Arthur Engoron.
Trump, his eldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and other Trump Organization executives are accused of exaggerating the value of their real estate assets by billions of dollars to obtain more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.
Trump dismissed allegations the company's statements of financial condition were fraudulent, and said "they were not really documents that the banks paid much attention to."
He said the value of the "Trump brand" was also not taken into account.
"I became president because of my brand," he said under questioning from Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the New York attorney general's office which brought the case.
At one point, the judge complained that Trump's responses were too long to what were "yes" or "no" questions.
"Please, just answer the questions, no speeches," Engoron said before asking one of Trump's lawyers to "control your client."
"This is not a political rally," the judge said.
Before taking the stand, Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom, denouncing the case as "election interference."
"It's a very sad situation for our country," he said. "It usually takes place in third world countries and banana republics."
What’s at stake?
Trump and his sons do not risk going to jail — but face up to $250 million in penalties and potential removal from the management of the family company.
Even before opening arguments, Engoron ruled that James' office had already shown "conclusive evidence" that Trump had overstated his net worth on financial documents by between $812 million and $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.
As a result, the judge ordered the liquidation of the companies’ managing the assets in question, such as the Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street skyscrapers in Manhattan.
That order is on hold pending appeal, but its potentially sweeping consequences highlight the high stakes for the former president.
The tycoon's daughter, Ivanka Trump — who left the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a White House advisor — is not a codefendant in the case but has also been ordered to testify, possibly as soon as Wednesday.
The civil fraud trial is one of several legal battles Trump faces as he seeks to make a White House comeback.
In March, Trump — who was impeached twice while in the White House — faces a trial on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
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