Former President Donald Trump, two of his sons, and several of his companies have been found liable for fraud in state court for inflating the value of his businesses in New York.
As a result of the Tuesday decision, Trump could be on the hook for up to $250 million. The exact amount for which he will be held liable will be determined at trial expected to begin next week. The judge in the case, Justice Arthur F. Engoron, also nullified the business certificates of Trump and many of his allies, stripping the former president of control of his New York properties.
Trump’s lawyers have indicated that they intend to appeal Tuesday’s ruling, and Trump has also sued Engoron in a separate case that could be decided this week. But if those efforts are unsuccessful, Trump will have to proceed to trial.
If that trial happens, it will likely be brief. Tuesday’s ruling came as part of a summary judgment — a ruling on the facts of the case. Engoron’s decision means the court won’t need to consider further arguments at trial, because a review of Trump’s financial statements was enough to determine that he had repeatedly committed fraud. Trump asked the court to throw out the case and argued that the alleged fraud occurred too long ago for him to be held liable.
Justice Arthur F. Engoron didn’t buy it, summarizing Trump’s defense as a false claim that “the documents do not say what they say; that there is no such thing as ‘objective’ value; and that essentially the Court should not believe its own eyes.
It’s a major early loss for Trump in the climax of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ multi-year investigation into his New York business dealings. James’s civil case is separate from the four sets of criminal charges Trump faces that span from New York to Georgia. Together, Trump’s civil and criminal cases will dominate much of the 2024 Republican primary calendar, and his legal troubles have consumed millions of dollars of his…
Read the full article here