A trial scheduled for next month in the New York attorney general’s business fraud lawsuit against former president, Donald Trump and his company could be jeopardised by a last-minute legal challenge his lawyers, Africa Today News, New York has gathered.
The non-jury trial, which was set to begin on October 2, was potentially postponed on Thursday by a state appeals court judge after Trump’s attorneys filed a case alleging that trial judge Arthur Engoron had frequently abused his power.
A judge on the state’s intermediate appellate court, Justice David Friedman, granted a temporary stay of the trial and directed the full appeals court to hear the case quickly. The trial could still begin on schedule based on the court’s decision, which it said it will make the week of September 25.
Among the issues raised by Trump’s lawyers were Engoron’s terse refusal to grant their recent request for a three-week trial delay, which he ruled as “completely without merit,” and lingering uncertainty about the trial’s scope because he has yet to comply with a June appeals court’s order that he determine which claims in the fraud lawsuit are barred by the statute of limitations.
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Other proceedings in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump and the Trump Organization will proceed as scheduled, Friedman said. They include oral arguments slated for Sept. 22 on requests from James’ office and Trump’s lawyers that Engoron decide on some or all of the case before the trial starts.
Engoron declined comment through a court spokesperson.
In a statement, James said, “We are confident in our case and will be ready for trial.”
James’ lawsuit alleges Trump defrauded banks, insurers and others with annual financial statements that inflated the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses and other assets and boosted his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion. Her lawsuit seeks $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in next year’s presidential election, has denied wrongdoing.
In sworn testimony given for the lawsuit in April, Trump said he didn’t think his financial statements would be taken seriously because they have a disclaimer that says they shouldn’t be trusted. He told James, a Democrat, “You don’t have a case and you should drop this case.”
“Do you know the banks were fully paid? Do you know the banks made a lot of money?” Trump testified. “Do you know I don’t believe I ever got even a default notice, and even during COVID, the banks were all paid? And yet you’re suing on behalf of banks, I guess. It’s crazy. The whole case is crazy.”
The lawsuit against Engoron, filed under a provision of state law known as Article 78, is Trump’s latest attack on judges presiding over his many legal cases.
On Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked the federal judge presiding over his election subversion case in Washington to recuse herself, saying U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ’s past public statements about him and his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol call into question whether she can be fair. That request is pending.
Before that, Trump also sought to remove the judge in his Manhattan hush-money criminal case. Trump’s lawyers argued Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is biased because he’s given money to Democrats and his daughter is a party consultant, but Merchan last month rejected their request to recuse himself, saying he is certain of his “ability to be fair and impartial.”
Trump has shown enmity for Engoron in the past, lashing out at him on social media as “vicious, biased, and mean” after a series of unfavorable rulings from the judge, including a contempt order that cost Trump $110,000 for not turning over evidence to James’ office in a timely fashion.
Trump’s lawyers fought unsuccessfully last year to have James’ lawsuit moved from Engoron’s courtroom to the court’s Commercial Division, which is set up to handle complex corporate litigation.