Former President Trump is back in court for Day Three of the trial, where defense counsel is expected to continue its cross examination of longtime Mazars accountant Donald Bender.

Once questioning of Bender concludes, the state says they plan to call Whitley Penn audit partner Camron Harris, who took over Trump's accounting after Mazars.

Justice Arthur Engoron may also address the narrow gag order he placed on Trump and the other defendants yesterday regarding making statements about the judge's staff, after the former president made what Engoron described as a "disparaging, untrue, and personally identifying post" involving Engoron's clerk.

Former President Trump told reporters he plans to return to court on Wednesday as he left the courtroom following a closed proceeding Tuesday afternoon.

Judge Arthur Engoron held multiple closed proceedings during the afternoon after issuing a warning to Trump not post anything to social media about his staff.

Neither Trump nor New York Attorney General Letitia James answered questions about the nature of the closed sessions when they left the courthouse at the end of the day.

Earlier, Mazars accountant Donald Bender underwent a forceful cross examination by Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez. Mixing criticism of Bender with praise of Trump -- who Suarez described as "the leader of the free world" and "possibly even the 47th president of the United States" -- Suarez attempted to paint Blender as an incompetent accountant who "messed up" and landed Trump in court.

As part of his cross examination, Suarez questioned Bender about why he failed to raise concerns about Trump inaccurately overstating the size of his triplex apartment in Manhattan's Trump Tower.

"Do you think two thirds of his [triplex] disappearing is not something you should have said to the leader of the free world?" Suarez asked during a portion of his questioning that was so theatrical that it prompted occasional laughter in the courtroom.

As court resumed after the lunch break, Judge Engoron admonished Donald Trump for a post he made this afternoon on his Truth Social platform regarding Engoron's clerk, Alison Greenfield.

"Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable and inappropriate. Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting, emailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff," the judge said in his admonishment.

The post, which included a photo of Greenfield with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, made unsubstantiated claims about her connections with Schumer and falsely claimed that Greenfield is "running" the case against Trump.

Trump apparently made the post, which linked to Greenfield's Instagram account, while the former president was sitting in the courtroom.

The post was deleted shortly before the judge's admonishment, but it was up for at least an hour and a half. Engoron lamented that the sentiment was shared to millions.

The judge did not mention Trump by name but noted the post came from one of the defendants.

Greenfield sits at the bench to Engoron's immediate right and the judge is often seen conferring with her over legal and logistical matters.

In a statement, Schumer spokesperson Allison Biasotti called Trump's post "ridiculous, absurd, and false," saying that "Sen. Schumer does not know Ms. Greenfield. As is well known, Sen. Schumer attends countless events in every corner of the state where tens of thousands of constituents take photos with him, just like this one, which was taken at a stop at an annual brunch in Manhattan.”

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous, Aaron Katersky, Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kendall Ross

Former President Donald Trump said he is attending his civil trial to "expose" New York Attorney General Letitia James, during an exchange with ABC News.

Asked by ABC News' Aaron Katersky why he was attending the trial even though he's not required to be there, Trump replied, "Because this trial is a rigged trial. It's a fraudulent trial."

"The attorney general is a fraud, and we have to expose her as that," Trump said after exiting the courtroom for the afternoon break. "You see what's going on. It's a rigged deal."

James has said of her probe, "No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law."

The statements from Trump follow the conclusion of the state's lengthy direct examination of longtime Mazars accountant Donald Bender, who testified about the procedures Mazars and the Trump Organization used to compile a central piece of evidence in the case -- Trump's statements of financial condition between 2011 and 2020.

Trump appeared attentive during the testimony, often studying the exhibits displayed on the court's screens -- including a recurring spreadsheet titled "Jeff Supporting Data" prepared by co-defendant and Trump Organization executive Jeffrey McConney, which contained the source information for the financial statements.

Bender testified about a specific red notation spelled "PBC" that appeared on the Excel file across multiple years. The notation -- indicating that the files were "Prepared By [the] Client" -- seemed to emphasize how much of the accounting was done by the Trump Organization rather than Mazars.

Testifying about letters of representation issued by the Trump Organization in support of the statements, Bender addressed specific language in the letter stating that the Trump Organization had included all the relevant records and data needed for the statements.

"We have not knowingly withheld from you any financial records or related data that in our judgment would be relevant to your compilation," the letter read.

But Bender testified that he later learned that meaningful information was indeed omitted -- information he said he learned in 2021 during meetings with prosecutors.

When asked repeatedly if Mazars would have issued the statements if they knew the Trump Organization had withheld information, Bender repeated that Mazars would not have issued the statements.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Jack Feeley and Peter Charalambous

Former President Donald Trump must pay $354 million for fraudulent business practices, Judge Arthur Engoron has ruled.

Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been fined $4 million apiece, and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has been fined $1 million.

The decision bars Trump barred from serving as an officer of a New York company for three years, and bars his sons for two years apiece.

Regarding the dissolution of Trump's companies, the decision says, "This Court hereby modifies its September 26, 2023, Decision and Order solely to the extent of removing the language ordering the LLCs cancellation en masse. The restructuring and potential dissolution of any LLCs shall be subject to individual review by the Court appointed Independent Director of Compliance in consultation with Judge Jones."

In his decision, Engoron wrote that "Defendants' refusal to admit error -- indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor -- constrains this Court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained."

"Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial," the judge wrote. "His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility."

"The accountants created these 'compilations' based on data submitted by the Trump entities," the decision said. "In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements. When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants' fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences."

Of Donald Trump Jr., Engoron wrote, "Despite disclaiming responsibility for or knowledge of the Statements of Financial Conditions' contents, Trump, Jr. still insisted that the Statements of Financial Condition were 'materially accurate.'"

Engoron's decision follows an 11-week civil trial in New York, where Trump and three of his adult children testified.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his two adult sons, and Trump Organization executives in September 2022 for issuing fraudulent financial statements -- including over 200 false and misleading asset values between 2011 and 2021 -- to get better loan terms and business deals.