A New York court rejects Trump's appeal to delay the trial for fraud in his real estate company
A New York appeals court decided this Thursday that it maintains the start date of the civil trial against former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) for fraud in the Trump Organization for next Monday.
Trump's defense tried to delay the date of the procedure with a complaint of abuse of authority against Judge Arthur Engoron, after which an appeals court ordered on September 14 to paralyze the case before ruling. In that complaint, Trump accused the judge of having acted negligently in rejecting a request from his defense, in which he asked him to dismiss most of the case because it was supposedly outside the statute of limitations.
However, in a brief decision issued this afternoon, the court decided to reject that appeal and lift the pause imposed on the process, which allows the planned schedule to be resumed and represents another bad news for the former president and his partners.
The Prosecutor's Office had already warned that delaying the civil trial could have consequences in other pending litigation against the former president, including four criminal cases related to his attempt to reverse the electoral results and his management of classified documents.
Engoron has estimated that this trial will last about three months, although he said this before resolving last Tuesday, summarily and at the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the main charge, by declaring Trump, two of his children, his company and two partners (which could shorten the entire process).
“Persistent illegalities”
Trump, his children Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization and two former executives were found liable for ongoing fraud for inflating the value of the company's assets for years to gain financial advantage. The judge also ordered the defendants' permits to operate businesses in New York state be canceled.
The remaining six charges set to be tried starting Monday relate to “persistent illegalities” at the company, including falsifying corporate documents, issuing false financial statements and committing insurance fraud.
The New York Prosecutor's Office is demanding compensation of $250 million, which will also be determined in the process. Both sides have submitted their lists of potential witnesses, which include the defendants.