"The people call Donald J. Trump," state attorney Kevin Wallace said.

With that, Donald Trump rose from his seat, made the short walk from the counsel table to the witness stand, and took a seat.

To his immediate right sits Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk Allison Greenfield, who Trump has repeatedly criticized as biased. Directly across from him and in eyeshot is New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sits in the courtroom's gallery with her eyes fixed on the former president.

Trump, wearing a tailored navy blue suit, blue dress shirt, and blue tie, sits slightly slouched in the witness box.

"Please raise your right hand," a court officer advised Trump. "Do you solemnly swear or affirm that any testimony you give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do," Trump said with his hand raised.

New York Attorney General Letitia James briefly conferred with her team of lawyers in court this morning before taking her seat in the gallery.

Before entering the courtroom, James predicted that Trump will likely engage in "name calling, taunts, [and] race baiting" to distract from his testimony.

"Before he takes the stand, I am certain that he will engage in name calling, taunts, race baiting, and call this a witch hunt," James told reporters. "But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don't lie."

Senior Enforcement Counsel Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general's office will lead the direct examination of Donald Trump when the former president takes the stand this morning.

Wallace led the depositions of Trump during the New York attorney general's investigation and also delivered the state's opening statement in the trial.

"The defendants were lying year after year," Wallace said in his opening statement.

A constant presence in court during the trial, Wallace joined the New York AG's office in 2018 after working in the private sector for 15 years.

Wallace and Trump sparred for hours during Trump's April deposition, according to a transcript of the deposition that was subsequently released by the AG's office.

"We're going to be here until midnight if your client answers every question with an eight-minute speech," Wallace remarked after one of Trump's lengthier answers.

Wallace tried to press Trump on spreadsheets that Wallace displayed during the deposition, promoting frequent objections from Trump's lawyers.

"Oh my God -- are you people capable of reading a spreadsheet?" an exasperated Wallace said after one objection from Trump's attorney Chris Kise.

Donald Trump's motorcade has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Court is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. ET, with Trump scheduled as the day's only witness.

State attorney Andrew Amer began his cross-examination of defense expert David Miller by highlighting that his testimony appeared to contradict Miller's own expert report.

During his direct examination, Miller was asked if he has ever seen any insurance underwriters rely on media outlets when reviewing their surety programs.

"Prior to this, no," Miller responded, referencing how underwriters at Zurich cited articles from Forbes and USA Today in their 2021 annual review of Trump's policies.

However, Miller's own report acknowledged that "some underwriters do not require financials and instead use their experience and other means (such as Forbes and USA Today) to satisfy their underwriting needs."

When Amer suggested that the finding in Miller's report appeared to directly contradict his testimony, the defense objected.

"It seems completely inconsistent. What am I missing?" Judge Arthur Engoron responded.

Miller clarified that he has seen underwriters cite external sources like media reports; however, the Zurich document was the first time he specifically saw Forbes and USA Today cited as sources.