New York attorney general's Trump lawsuit "ready for trial," her office says
New York Attorney General Letitia James' office says it is ready to proceed with a trial stemming from its $250 million lawsuit claiming former President Donald Trump, two of his children and his company engaged in widespread fraud.
"The case is ready for trial," wrote Kevin Wallace, senior enforcement counsel for the office, in a filing Monday.
The September 2022 lawsuit accused members of the Trump family and Trump Organization executives of orchestrating an extensive fraudulent scheme related to valuations of property and Trump's personal financial statements. Allegations against Ivanka Trump have since been dismissed by a New York appeals court.
The lawsuit is seeking $250 million and sanctions that would effectively cease the company's operations in New York. The Trumps and the company have vehemently denied wrongdoing.
Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump have all sat for depositions in the case. During Trump's first deposition, in August 2022, before the lawsuit was filed, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination more than 400 times.
He was deposed again in April, that time answering questions in James' New York City office for about eight hours.
The case is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 2, a date the the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, previously described as "set in stone." Engoron has rejected repeated attempts by Trump attorneys to push that date back.
The trial comes amid a legal maelstrom surrounding Trump, who is again running for president. In April, he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, which charged him with 34 felonies in connection with reimbursements for an alleged "hush money" payment made to an adult film star before the 2016 election. He has entered a not guilty plea in that case, which is scheduled for trial in March 2024.
In May, Trump was found liable by a jury for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll after a federal civil trial. He is appealing.
In June, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with 37 felonies related to alleged "willful retention" of national security information after leaving the White House. Last week, three more counts against him were added via a superseding indictment. Trump has entered a not guilty plea in that case, which is scheduled for trial in May 2024.
In July, Trump announced in a social media post that he received a letter identifying him as a target in a federal investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost. Trump has not been charged in connection with that investigation and has denied wrongdoing in connection with those events.
Later this month, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated a grand jury there may consider charges related to her office's two-year investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn that state's election results after Trump lost.
Trump has accused prosecutors in each case of bias and strenuously denied all allegations against him.