Trump Civil Fraud Trial in New York, Begins –
Monday 2nd October 2023
The former President is accused of inflating his net worth to win favourable terms on loans. The trial is scheduled to last until the end of December but is expected to end sooner.
After decades of exaggerating, with impunity, the value of his properties, Trump went on trial on Monday in New York to face a lawsuit that accuses him of inflating his riches by billions of dollars and crossing the line into fraud.
The trial in State Supreme Court in Manhattan will be the first of several government trials that Trump will face in the coming year, a procession of high-stakes courtroom battles that coincide with his third White House campaign.
The civil case, which is separate from Mr. Trump’s four criminal indictments, was brought by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who accused the former president, his adult sons and their family business of inflating the value of his assets to secure favourable loan terms from banks. In some years, Ms. James said, Mr. Trump exaggerated his wealth by more than $2 billion.
“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system,” Ms. James said in a statement on Monday, adding, “No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country.”
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Trump spoke to reporters, telling them the New York attorney general was trying to damage him because he was doing so well in the polls forRepublican candidate for the Presidential election in November.
“There is no crime,” he said. “The crime is against me.”
However – Trump is beginning the trial at a serious disadvantage.
The law that Ms. James used to sue Trump requires that the judge decide the case, rather than a jury.
The judge overseeing the case, Arthur F. Engoron – ruled, last week, that the former President had persistently committed fraud, deciding that no trial was needed to determine the core of Ms. James’s lawsuit.
He imposed a heavy initial punishment, stripping the Trumps of control over their core New York properties — a move that could crush much of the business known as the Trump Organisation. Ms. James is asking for more. She wants Trump to be fined as much as $250 million and to be permanently barred from running a business in New York.
So, it is the trial that will, therefore – on the basis that Trump and named family are guilty – determine what penalty they must pay and whether he will be, in essence, evicted from the world of New York real estate that made him famous/infamous.
M Trump has. Of course, denied all wrongdoing and accused Justice Engoron and Ms. James – both Democrats, of carrying out a political witch hunt against him. Ho Hum!
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the banks were hardly victims — they made a lot of money from dealing with Trump and did not rely on his financial statements.
So – the banks – loaned huge amounts – without evidence of his financial status – and have no interest in fraudulent financial statements!
Absolute nonsense!
He and his lawyers are really getting desperate.