'Play victim and raise money': Legal expert reveals why Trump went to N.Y. civil trial

Former President Donald Trump had a lot of potential reasons for wanting to show up to testify at his civil fraud trial in New York, argued legal analyst Lisa Rubin for MSNBC. Some of those reasons include wanting to give himself a bigger platform for voicing his grievances, and a potential opportunity to intimidate witnesses.

But the biggest likely reason, Rubin suggested, is that he views the whole thing as a fundraising opportunity.

"Trump came to court to play victim and raise money," wrote Rubin. "The leading GOP presidential candidate told reporters that he was 'stuck here' defending himself when he’d rather be campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina. But he was not stuck in a Manhattan state courtroom any more than he was stuck literally around the corner in the federal courthouse for the E. Jean Carroll trial he never attended. Civil trials do not require the presence of a defendant, period. Trump knows this, which is why, after the lunch break began, he left the trial — which James noted he treated as 'a fundraising stop' — in the rearview mirror."

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"Like clockwork, the Trump campaign sent another fundraising email within the hour of Trump’s departure, accusing James of 'inventing crimes out of thin air,' weaponizing the justice system against Trump, and conspiring with other 'Marxists' to prevent his return to power," noted Rubin.

All of this comes as Trump continues to attack New York Attorney General Letitia James, including in a racially charged rant earlier on Wednesday.

James has alleged that Trump and his adult sons systematically lied about how much their assets were worth, in order to fraudulently obtain more favorable loans and insurance. State Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled for James on the facts in summary judgment, and the trial unfolding this week is about determining damages and determining other remaining questions. James is seeking a $250 million fine and a ban on Trump's family from doing business in the state.