Donald Trump has returned home to Florida having sat through two and half days of his civil fraud trial in New York, after claiming that he intended to testify “at the appropriate time”.
The former president attended court in Lower Manhattan for the initial stages of the trial in which it will be determined what penalties he will face for his fraudulent business activities.
With no cameras in the courtroom, Mr Trump took advantage of the media scrum in the hallways of the courthouse to bash New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and lay out a shadow version of the case, portraying himself as a victim and claiming that things were going well.
However, there was a rapid decline in the former president’s demeanour when he was slapped with a gag order for attacking the court clerk on social media. The offending post was deleted and Judge Engoron threatened serious sanctions against Mr Trump for any future infractions.
Mr Trump appeared in court on Wednesday but seemed exasperated, appearing to grumble, groan and shrug throughout the morning.
After he departed, Ms James told reporters she would not be bullied and justice would be served.
Trump is silent in court. His outbursts outside it get attention – but may have serious consequences