Donald Trump to Skip Court Appearance for Golf Tournament

Donald Trump said he would "probably not" attend his civil fraud trial on Thursday because of a golf tournament at one of his resorts.

The case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump and his company of conspiring to inflate his net worth and asset values on financial statements provided to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already resolved the lawsuit's top claim, ruling that Trump and his company committed fraud. But the trial involves remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.

The former president has denied all of James' allegations.

Trump, who is campaigning to regain the White House, has voluntarily attended five days of the $250 million trial.

He has repeatedly protested his treatment to news cameras outside the Manhattan courtroom, saying James' lawsuit is a political vendetta designed to derail his 2024 campaign.

Asked on Wednesday if he would return on Thursday, Trump said he would "probably not" attend due to a tournament at his golf resort in Doral, Florida.

"We're having a very big tournament, professional golf tournament, at Doral, so probably not," he said outside the courtroom.

A Trump spokesperson has been contacted for comment via email.

On Wednesday, a woman at Trump's trial was arrested after interrupting proceedings and yelling out an offer to help Trump.

The woman, who was identified as a court system employee, stood up and started walking toward the front of the courtroom where Trump sat, Lucian Chalfen, spokesperson for the New York State Office of Court Administration, said in a statement to Newsweek.

She was "yelling out to Mr. Trump indicating she wanted to assist him," Chalfen said.

The woman was stopped by court officers before she got near Trump, and neither he nor anyone else at the trial was ever in danger, Chalfen said.

The woman was escorted out and arrested on a contempt charge for disrupting a court proceeding, Chalfen said. She was also placed on administrative leave.

Wednesday's proceedings also saw a moment where Engoron scolded Trump for speaking while real estate appraiser Doug Larson was testifying.

"Ok, I'll ask everyone to be quiet when the witness is testifying, particularly if it's meant to influence [the] testimony," he said.

After his decision on the lawsuit's top claim, Engoron issued a ruling that revoked Trump's business licenses and put a court-appointed receiver in charge of his companies, which legal experts called a "corporate death penalty." An appeals court later rejected Trump's bid to pause the trial but agreed to leave him in control of his business holdings for now.

Engoron has also issued a limited gag order barring those involved in the case from disparaging members of his staff after Trump maligned the judge's law clerk on social media.

Trump is also facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases in Washington D.C, New York, Florida and Georgia. He has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases.