Pressing Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender on how often he asked the Trump Organization for appraisals of the former president's assets during the years he worked on Trump's account, defense lawyers attempted to portray Bender as neglecting to do his job compiling Trump's financial reports.

"I didn't know that the Trump Organization had any access to appraisals they did not give me," Bender testified.

The longtime Trump accountant struggled to articulate how often he made requests for appraisals, and defense counsel Clifford Robert drilled into the fact that those requests appear to never have been made in writing to Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney.

"You don't really know what you asked Jeff McConney," Robert told Bender.

Bender was also asked about Trump's three adult children, who all previously served as executives in the Trump Organization, and whether they were involved with Trump's statement of financial condition.

The accountant said that -- apart from a brief conversation he once had with Eric Trump -- Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump were not involved in issuing Trump's financial statements.

On redirect examination, state attorneys briefly asked questions of Bender suggesting that the defense's questions had been based on an outdated accounting standard.

That concluded Bender's testimony.

Trump attorney Jesus Suarez, in his cross-examination of longtime Trump accountant Donald Bender, is attempting to ask Bender about each year's compilation of Trump's statement of financial condition.

In response, facing the possibility of hours of repetitive questions, Judge Engoron said he would limit Suarez to an hour and a half of cross-examination.

Defense lawyer Clifford Robert is also expected to question Bender.

The defense's cross-examination of longtime Trump accountant Donald Bender has resumed.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is attending court today, but Eric Trump of the Trump Organization is absent from the gallery.

When Donald Trump attended over the first three days of the trial, the gallery was packed -- but without him in attendance, it's now roughly half full.

The trial resumes this morning for its first full day of action without the presence of former President Trump, who returned to Florida yesterday after attending the trial's first three days.

With 26 witnesses yet to testify for the state, today is likely to provide an indication of the trial's duration, which Judge Engoron scheduled to take three months.

Longtime Trump accountant Donald Bender of Mazars USA is back on the stand for more cross-examination from defense lawyer Jesus Suarez, who has been walking Bender though years of financial statements in an attempt to paint him as asleep of the wheel while handling Trump's accounting.

If Bender gets off the stand today, the state will next call longtime Trump Organization comptroller Jeffrey McConney, who is a defendant in the case itself.

Donald Trump acknowledged during direct examination that he overvalued at least two properties in his statements of financial condition, though he broadly represented that the statements underestimated his total net worth.

"Did you ever think that the values were off in your statement of financial condition?" state attorney Kevin Wallace asked about the document at the center of the case, which the New York attorney general has alleged contained fraudulent valuations.

"Yes, on occasion. Both high and low," Trump said, appearing to surprise Wallace, who paused to allow Trump to continue his answer.

Compared to his sons, who largely testified that they deferred to accountants and lawyers, Trump portrayed himself as an experienced businessman who "was certainly more expert than anybody else" when it came to the value of his own properties.

Asked about properties like 40 Wall Street and a retail space near Trump Tower, the former president confidently used real estate shorthand to explain why he thought certain properties were undervalued. He also repeated that his brand value -- which was not included in his financial statement -- is worth billions.

"The most valuable asset was the brand value," Trump said. "I became president because of my brand."

However, Trump acknowledged that two properties -- his triplex apartment in Trump Tower and his Seven Springs estate in New York's Westchester County -- were overvalued and had to be adjusted in his financial statement.

"I thought the apartment was overvalued when I looked at it," Trump said, appearing to refer to a $200 million correction applied to his statement after Forbes magazine reported that he falsely stated the apartment was three times its actual size.

Asked about the change in the statement, Trump acknowledged the square footage mistake, which he blamed on a broker, while also claiming that the number was "not far off" from reality when you consider the square footage of Trump Tower's roof.

"It's a mistake … [but] there's a disclaimer clause so you don't have to get sued by the attorney general of New York," Trump said.

Trump made a similar admission about the $291 million valuation of Seven Springs.

"I thought it was too high and we lowered it," Trump said, though he could not provide specifics about the changed valuation.