As he arrived at court earlier, the Republican front-runner for president in 2024 refuted any wrongdoing.

Mr. Trump has been voluntarily attending the trial on occasion, and it is anticipated that he may testify at some point.

In 2018, Cohen—who had previously said he would “take a bullet” for President Trump—was sentenced to three years in prison for lying to Congress about hush money he had paid for the president.

Cohen told reporters as he entered the courtroom, “This is about accountability, plain and simple.”

It had been five years since the two had shared a room until his testimony.

He said, “Heck of a reunion,” when the courts were out.

Cohen’s 2019 testimony to Congress, in which he claimed that Mr. Trump had exaggerated the value of his properties, served as the impetus for the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud inquiry.

The state’s top prosecutor, Ms. James, a Democrat, is requesting a $250 million (£205 million) fine as well as a prohibition on Mr. Trump conducting business in his own state.

Judge Arthur Engoron declared in late September that Mr. Trump had committed fraud by regularly falsifying his worth by hundreds of millions of dollars.