Trump fundraises off fraud trial: ‘Nothing can break me’

Former President Trump on Monday was quick to fundraise off of his fraud trial in New York after proceedings wrapped for the day.

Trump’s campaign blasted out a fundraising email with a subject line of “I just left the courthouse” roughly 20 minutes after court was dismissed in Manhattan, where the former president had been present.

The fundraising blast repeated many of Trump’s claims about the investigations and charges against him, including that the trial is political in nature and a continuation of a “witch hunt.”

“Politicians, drunk with power, are weaponizing the legal system to try and completely destroy me — and, ultimately, imprison me for the rest of my life as an innocent man. And why do they want to stop me so bad?” the email asks.

“Because they know that I’m on the verge of winning the 2024 election in a landslide and upon taking office, will take away their power and return it to YOU, the American people,” it continues. “So, let me say for the millionth time that NOTHING can break me.”

The fundraising email was similar to those Trump has sent after indictments and court appearances in other criminal proceedings, including federal cases in Washington, D.C., and in Florida, and it underscored how the former president and his campaign have sought to capitalize politically on Trump’s legal woes.

Monday marked the start of Trump’s fraud trial in a sweeping civil case alleging decades of fraud by him and his businesses.

Following a multiyear investigation, James’s office sued Trump, the Trump Organization and his two adult sons — Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — last September, claiming the former president’s company falsely inflated and deflated the value of its assets to receive lower taxes and better insurance coverage.

The attorney general’s office is asking for $250 million in financial penalties and a ban on Trump and his children from serving as officers or directors of New York companies.

Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for fraud last week, ruling New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) proved the crux of her case.

The decision stripped some of Trump’s business licenses and raised the potential for him to lose control of some of his famed properties. Engoron also rejected Trump’s effort to throw out the case, allowing six remaining elements to proceed to trial.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Engoron and James over the case, including in the hours before the trial was set to begin.