Donald Trump to take the stand in New York civil fraud trial
Ashley Oliver
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Former President Donald Trump is expected to appear in person to testify Monday in a civil case in New York over accusations he committed business fraud by inflating his net worth by billions of dollars in financial statements.
Trump is set to appear at the New York Supreme Court in downtown Manhattan for the ongoing trial following his two adult sons, who are co-defendants in the case, testifying last week.
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Trump’s son Eric said Friday in remarks to the press that his father is “fired up” to come to the courthouse.
“He thinks this is one of the most incredible injustices he’s ever seen,” Eric Trump said.
He and his brother Donald Trump Jr., along with their father and two Trump Organization associates, were accused by Attorney General Letitia James of “knowingly” participating in a business scheme, which she described in sweeping detail in a 233-page complaint last year.
James alleged that they used “false and misleading information to increase Mr. Trump’s stated net worth on the Statement of Financial Condition for each year from 2011 through the present. Defendants further agreed to use those inflated Statements to obtain economic and financial benefits from 2011 through the present day.”
In a pre-trial decision in September, Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the case, found the defendants liable for some of James’s claims and ordered all of the Trump family’s business certificates to be canceled in New York.
Trump appealed the decision, and James agreed that the court could pause enforcement of the certificates’ cancellations until the trial for the case reaches a full conclusion.
The trial, which is being conducted without a jury, began in early October and could last through mid-December. Its purpose is to assess the remainder of James’s allegations and determine if Trump will need to pay damages or receive any other penalties.
James is seeking $250 million in damages and angling to prohibit Trump and the Trump Organization from doing any further business in New York, a move that threatens to decimate Trump’s longstanding business empire.
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Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, was initially also named as a co-defendant, but she successfully had her name dropped from the case on statute of limitations grounds.
Ivanka Trump is still set to testify as a witness on Wednesday. She had initially appealed the subpoenas compelling her testimony but withdrew her appeal last week after a judge denied the stay she requested while her appeal was pending.