NEW YORK — Donald Trump Jr. returned to court Monday as something of a character witness for his father’s real estate empire, waxing exuberantly about the former president’s “incredible vision” as a developer and his company’s portfolio of “great, iconic projects” at the New York civil fraud trial now threatening its future.

Donald Trump’s eldest son was making an encore appearance at the Manhattan trial, this time as defense lawyers started calling their own witnesses. Trump Jr. first testified two weeks ago, in the last phase of the state’s case, which also featured testimony from his father and siblings Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump.

“I’d say it’s good to be here, your honor, but I have a feeling that the attorney general would sue me for perjury if I said that,” he joked before embarking on a detailed history of his father’s company.

New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Donald Trump, his company and executives including his two eldest sons exaggerated his wealth by billions of dollars on financial statements given to banks, insurers and others. The documents were used to secure loans and make deals. James is seeking over $300 million in what she says were ill-gotten gains and a ban on defendants doing business in New York.

Trump Jr.’s testimony Monday set the tone for a defense case that’s expected to last into mid-December. After a six-week state case that focused heavily on the financial statements, spreadsheets and loan deals at the heart of the case, the scion aimed at humanizing the Trump Organization in the mind of the judge who’ll decide its fate.

Questioned by his own lawyer, Clifford Robert, he spent more than an hour narrating a slideshow titled “The Trump Story,” complete with a timeline of the company’s evolution and photographs of golf courses, hotels and other major projects. He spoke glowingly about his father’s early years as a Manhattan developer, his work turning eyesores into thriving skyscrapers, and the “vision he had to do things differently.”

“He’s an artist with real estate. He sees the things other people don’t,” Trump Jr. testified, playing up his father’s accomplishments while skipping over his failed ventures and casino bankruptcies.

Trump Jr., a Trump Organization executive vice president, originally testified during the state’s case on Nov. 1 and 2. He said then that he never worked on the annual financial statements at the heart of James’ lawsuit. He said he relied on the company’s longtime finance chief and outside accountants to verify their accuracy.

At times, his testimony Monday had the feel of a real estate pitch or an old episode of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” State lawyer Colleen Faherty tried to forestall the superlative-laced spiel, arguing Trump Jr.’s amped testimony was “unfocused to anything relevant” to the case.

Judge Arthur Engoron disagreed, saying: “Let this stuff come in! I also find it interesting.”

Before the trial, Engoron ruled that the defendants committed fraud by inflating Trump’s net worth and the value of assets on his financial statements. He imposed a punishment that could strip Trump of marquee properties like Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing the former president to remain in control for now.

The Trumps have denied wrongdoing. Their lawyers contend that the state failed to meet “any legal standard” to prove allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. The state rested its case Wednesday after six weeks of testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. Among them were company insiders, accountants, bank officials and Trump’s fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen.

The trial is proceeding after Engoron rebuffed the defense’s request last week to end it early through what’s known as a directed verdict. Engoron did not rule on the request but indicated the trial would move ahead as scheduled.

Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, seeking a verdict clearing Trump and other defendants, argued Thursday that the state’s case involved only “successful and profitable loan transactions” and that “there is no victim. There is no complainant. There is no injury.”

Trump Jr. is scheduled to testify further on Tuesday, followed by a tax lawyer who also testified as a state witness. Eric Trump is also expected to return to the witness stand.