Donald Trump loses bid to delay civil fraud trial in New York
A New York appeals court rejected Donald Trump’s bid to have a civil trial against him delayed on Thursday, after the former US president accused the judge of wrongly refusing to throw out most of the case.
In a brief order, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division, a mid-level appeals court in Manhattan, denied Mr Trump’s motion to postpone the trial, paving the way for it to begin on Monday (2 October).
It also lifted a 14 September order by Justice David Friedman to put the trial on hold while it considered Mr Trump’s motion. Mr Friedman was part of Thursday’s panel.
The panel ruled two days after state court Justice Arthur Engoron found that Mr Trump and his family business persistently and fraudulently overvalued his assets and net worth in order to obtain better terms on loans and insurance.
Mr Trump had been sued in September 2022 by state Attorney General Letitia James, who accused him, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others of “staggering fraud” in how they valued properties.
Ms James is seeking at least $250m in penalties, a ban against Mr Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York, and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Mr Trump and the Trump Organization.
Lawyers for Mr Trump and the other defendants were not immediately available for comment. Ms James’ office had no immediate comment.
a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children, and the Trump Organization (Photo credit: Seth Wenig/AP)
The case is unrelated to the four criminal indictments that Mr Trump faces, including for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all, and cast litigation against him as part of a politically-motivated, Democratic witch hunt as he seeks a return to the White House. Ms James is a Democrat.
Despite his legal woes, Mr Trump holds a commanding lead for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Mr Trump sued Mr Engoron on 14 September, seeking to delay the trial and accusing him of ignoring a June ruling from the appeals court that, according to Mr Trump, required gutting Ms James’ case because many of her claims were too old.
Mr Engoron’s decision on Tuesday showed that he believed the appeals court ruling had little effect on Ms James’ case.
The judge said the defendants were living in “a fantasy world, not the real world,” as they made up valuations for properties including Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Florida and Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan.
Mr Engoron found “conclusive evidence” that Trump had overstated his fortune by as much as $2.2bn.
He also ordered the cancellation of certificates that let some of Trump’s businesses operate.
This could force Mr Trump to cede control to a receiver of properties including Manhattan’s Trump Tower, a Wall Street office building, golf courses and his family estate in suburban Westchester County, New York.
Late on Wednesday night, the attorney general’s office and defense lawyers disclosed lists of witnesses, potentially numbering well over 100, who may be called to testify.
Donald Trump and his adult sons appear on both lists, as do former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and controller Jeffrey McConney.
The attorney general’s list also includes Mr Trump’s onetime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who has turned against his former boss, and his daughter Ivanka Trump, who the appeals court dismissed as a defendant in June.
Additional reporting by Reuters
