<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Former President Donald Trump has attacked a judge and prosecutor in a day of courtroom drama as he attended the opening of a fraud trial that could threaten his business empire.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On entering the room on Monday dressed in a blue suit, Mr Trump - who turned up voluntarily - looked ahead as he walked past the prosecutor who brought the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State's attorney general Letitia James, sitting in the front row, averted her gaze.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Their paths did not cross for the rest of opening statements as both sides laid out their case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump, the Trump Organization, several executives and two of his children - Donald Jr and Eric - are the defendants in the civil trial in New York Superior Court.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fact-checking Trump's claims about NY fraud trial</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are accused of fraud, falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements and conspiracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the trial got under way, the former president occasionally glanced in the direction of Judge Arthur Engoron as he addressed the court.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moments beforehand, in a tirade outside court that echoed across the chamber, Mr Trump had called the judge a "rogue adjudicator".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms James was not spared either in his remarks to reporters at the top of the courtroom steps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's a scam, it's a sham. Just so you know, my financial statements are phenomenal," Mr Trump added. "There was no crime - the crime was against me."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Given the former president's personal attacks, observers expected a tense atmosphere in the cramped confines of the court. But the three key figures in the legal drama had minimal direct interactions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While prosecutors set out their case, Mr Trump for the most part sat still, occasionally whispering to his legal team.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms James kept her eyes on the lawyer unveiling a visual presentation that accompanied her team's opening statements. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>