Former US president Donald Trump will appear in a New York court today, Monday as a civil fraud trial against him and two of his sons kicks off, with the case threatening the Republican’s business empire as he campaigns to retake the White House.
In Monday’s case, Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr. committed fraud by inflating the value of the real estate and financial assets of the Trump Organization for years.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is now seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of Trump and his sons from management of the family empire.
Trump said late Sunday he planned to be present for the start of the trial on Monday morning.
“I’m going to Court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation,” the 77-year-old wrote on his Truth Social platform. “This whole case is a sham!!!”
In addition to this civil case, Trump also faces several major criminal proceedings in the months ahead.
He is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Washington on March 4 on charges of trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.
Trump will then be back in New York state court, this time on criminal hush money charges, and later in a Florida federal court, where he is accused of mishandling classified documents after leaving office.
Finally, he will also have to answer to state charges in Georgia, where prosecutors say Trump illegally tried to get the southern state’s 2020 election results changed in his favor.
In the New York civil case, Engoron ruled that Trump, his two eldest sons, and other Trump Organization executives lied to tax collectors, lenders, and insurers for years in a scheme that exaggerated the value of their properties by $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.
*High-profile witnesses*
Trump has repeatedly dismissed the New York civil allegations, calling James, who is Black, “racist,” and labeling Engoron “deranged.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed there was no “wrongdoing” in his actions of “fully paying back sophisticated Wall Street Banks in full, with interest, with no defaults, and with no victims.”
There are likely to be dozens of witnesses called to testify at the trial, including Trump himself, and former financial director of the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg, who served time in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud in a separate case brought against the business.
Trump’s children Eric, Don Jr., and his oldest daughter Ivanka — who was initially also targeted by James’s complaint but ultimately not prosecuted — are also likely to present their own testimony.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen — now an outspoken critic of the former president — and officials from certain Trump-linked financial institutions are also expected to appear.