The fraud lawsuit that could cost former President Donald Trump control of some of his most prized prized properties went on trial Monday, with New York state lawyers vowing to hold him accountable while he denounced the case as a politically motivated “scam.”
The Associated Press has the story:
Key moments in NY AG fraud case against Donald Trump
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
The fraud lawsuit that could cost former President Donald Trump control of some of his most prized prized properties went on trial Monday, with New York state lawyers vowing to hold him accountable while he denounced the case as a politically motivated “scam.”
The civil case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses the business-mogul-turned-politician and his company of deceiving banks, insurers and others by habitually misstating his wealth in financial statements.
“They were lying year after year after year,” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James’ office, said in an opening statement as Trump sat at the defense table.
Trump showed up voluntarily for the trial, with his control over Trump Tower and some other major real estate holdings in jeopardy.
“This is a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time,” the Republican said as he approached the courtroom, reiterating claims that James, a Democrat, is trying to thwart his return to the White House.
“It’s a scam. It’s a sham,” Trump said. He called the case “an attempt to hurt me in an election” and added: “I don’t think the people of this country are going to stand for it.”
Trump looked away from James as he passed her on the way into court, with a disgusted look on his face. Meanwhile, he immediately began fundraising off the appearance.
Judge Arthur Engoron already has ruled that Trump committed fraud in his business dealings. Last week’s ruling, if upheld on appeal, could force Trump to give up New York properties including Trump Tower, a Wall Street office building, golf courses and a suburban estate. Trump has called it a “a corporate death penalty” and insisted the judge is unfair and out to get him.
It is a non-jury trial, so Engoron will decide on six other claims in the lawsuit. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
Before the trial Monday, James reiterated her position that Trump for years engaged in “persistent and repeated fraud.”
“No matter how powerful you are, and no matter how much money you think you have, no one is above the law,” she said on her way into the courthouse.
In her office’s opening statement, Wallace placed Trump squarely at the center of the alleged financial fudging: “Every estimate was determined by Mr. Trump.”
Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential race, has denied wrongdoing. He says that James and the judge are undervaluing such assets as his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Mar-a-Lago, and that it didn’t matter what he put on his financial statements because they have a disclaimer that says they shouldn’t be trusted.
Trump isn’t expected to testify for several weeks. His trip to court Monday marked a remarkable departure from his past practice.
Trump didn’t go to court as either a witness or a spectator when his company and one of its top executives was convicted of tax fraud last year. He didn’t show, either, for a civil trial earlier this year in which a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting the writer E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room.
James’ lawsuit accused Trump and his company of a long list of falsehoods in the financial statements he gave to banks. In a recent court filing, James’ office alleged Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion.
Among the allegations were that Trump claimed his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan — a three-story penthouse replete with gold-plated fixtures — was nearly three times its actual size and worth an astounding $327 million. No apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount, James said.
Trump valued Mar-a-Lago as high as $739 million — more than 10 times a more reasonable estimate of its worth, James claimed. Trump’s figure for the private club was based on the idea that the property could be developed for residential use. While Trump lives there, deed terms prohibit further residential development on the property, James said.
He and his lawyers have also argued that no one was harmed by anything in the financial statements. Banks he borrowed money from were fully repaid. Business partners made money. And Trump’s own company flourished.
James’ lawsuit is one of several legal headaches for Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House in next year’s election. He has been indicted four times since March, accused of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, hoarding classified documents and falsifying business records related to hush money paid on his behalf.
The New York fraud trial could last into December, Engoron said.
Judge Arthur Engoron poses for a picture in his courtroom in New York, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Starting Monday, Oct. 2, Engoron will preside over a non-jury trial in Manhattan to resolve remaining claims in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, his company and top executives. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
KEY MOMENTS:
Donald Trump, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others will go on trial on Monday in a New York state court in Manhattan, in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump has denied wrongdoing, and called the case a witch hunt.
The following is a timeline of key developments in the case:
2019: James begins her probe.
August 2020: James discloses the probe in a court filing.
October 2020: One of Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, testifies under oath in a deposition, and invokes his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 500 times.
February 2022: The judge overseeing the case, Justice Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan Supreme Court, enforces subpoenas requiring Donald Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, to testify under oath in depositions. Each testifies after a state appeals court upholds the subpoenas.
April 2022: Engoron holds Trump in contempt for being too slow to respond to a subpoena for documents. He lifts the order in June 2022 after Trump pays a $110,000 fine.
August 2022: Trump testifies under oath in a deposition, and invokes his right against self-incrimination more than 400 times.
Sept. 21, 2022: James sues Trump, his three adult children, the Trump Organization, former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and others.
She says Trump oversaw a “staggering fraud” for more than a decade by inflating his net worth and the value of 23 assets including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his Manhattan penthouse, office buildings, hotels and golf courses.
Trump calls the lawsuit by James, who is Black, “Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General.”
Nov. 3, 2022: Engoron orders the hiring of an independent watchdog to oversee the Trump Organization.
Jan. 6, 2023: Engoron refuses to dismiss James’ case, rejecting defense claims that she waited too long to sue and did not establish fraud. He calls some of Trump’s arguments “borderline frivolous.”
March 3, 2023: Trump seeks to delay James’ case by six months, citing “fundamental fairness and due process” given the “staggering” volume of materials. The request came after Engoron said the trial would begin on Oct. 2 “come hell or high water.”
April 13, 2023: Trump is again questioned under oath in a deposition.
June 27, 2023: A state appeals court in Manhattan, the Appellate Division, dismisses James’ case against Ivanka Trump because the attorney general missed a deadline to sue her. It says Engoron can narrow parts of the remaining case because some claims might be too old.
Aug. 30, 2023: James says Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion, and asks Engoron to declare as a matter of law that Trump committed fraud.
Sept. 8, 2023: James boosts her maximum estimate for how much Trump inflated his net worth to $3.6 billion.
Sept. 14, 2023: The defendants sue Engoron, seeking to halt the trial until he decides whether to dismiss most of James’ claims. A state appeals court judge grants a temporary pause, pending that court’s review of the case.
Sept. 26, 2023: Engoron holds the defendants liable for fraud, saying their asset valuations reflected a “fantasy world,” and finding “conclusive evidence” that Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion. The judge leaves damages and other claims for the trial. Engoron also sanctions Trump’s lawyers for pressing legal arguments he had rejected.
Sept. 28, 2023: The Appellate Division lifts its temporary pause on a trial, clearing the way for it to begin.
