Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, in which he is accused of inflating the value of his properties, could commence as soon as Monday after a New York appeals court denied his request to delay the trial. The court rejected a lawsuit filed by Trump against the trial judge, Arthur F. Engoron, which aimed to postpone the trial and dismiss multiple allegations against the former president. This ruling follows a previous order by Engoron that found Trump liable for fraud after consistently overvaluing his assets. Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump last year, claims he exaggerated his net worth to secure favorable loan terms from banks.
While Trump still has the option to appeal Engoron’s order, it remains uncertain if the appeals court would consider it. The trial, which would be decided by Engoron rather than a jury, would determine whether Trump and his company face further penalties, including a financial penalty of up to $250 million that James seeks to recover. Trump’s lawyers argue that Engoron disregarded a previous appeals court decision that suggested some of the accusations against the former president might be too old for trial. However, the appeals court seemed unswayed by these arguments. Trump’s attorney, Christopher M. Kise, has not yet commented on the ruling but previously criticized Engoron’s decision as disconnected from the facts and law.
Trump has consistently denied any misconduct, alleging that both Engoron and James are politically motivated. He has even labeled Engoron as “deranged” and James, who is Black, as a racist. James’s case revolves around the allegation that Trump’s financial statements overestimated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion in certain years, which he submitted to banks to obtain favorable loans. Kise, on the other hand, contends that Trump cannot be guilty of fraud since the banks profited from the loans, and he never missed a payment. The attorney general’s office argues that they do not need to prove financial harm under the state law that enables them to bring the case, a stance supported by Engoron’s Tuesday opinion, which also imposed sanctions on each of Trump’s lawyers for persisting with previously refuted arguments. Additionally, the future of Trump’s business in New York remains uncertain following this order.
