A judge has rejected a plea made by attorneys representing former President Donald Trump, his family, and his business to postpone a business fraud trial set for October 2nd in New York.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision followed a request submitted by the mentioned attorneys a day earlier. Last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) leveled charges against Trump, his family, and his business, alleging that the former president had artificially inflated his net worth by potentially up to $2.2 billion for tax advantages and improved insurance coverage.
James stated, “While this represents only the surface of a much larger web of deceit that the plaintiff intends to unveil at trial — potentially revealing billions more in discrepancies within Mr. Trump’s net worth — it already provides ample grounds for this Court to conclude, as a matter of law, that each [statement of financial conditions] from 2011 to 2021 was false or misleading.”
In a subsequent ruling by an appeals court, Ivanka Trump, Trump’s daughter, was released from the lawsuit. The ruling also determined that some of the business fraud allegations exceeded the statute of limitations under New York law. Trump’s legal team accused James of disregarding the appeals court’s decision and requested a potential delay until a judge could assess the motions for summary judgment from both sides.
Trump’s attorneys asserted in their Tuesday filing, “A trial of such magnitude should not commence amidst confusion. Both the Court and the Defendants are entitled to adequate notice of the claims and issues set for trial in order to prepare adequately.”
