2nd October, 2023
The civil fraud trial of former President of the United States, Donald Trump began in New York on Monday, with Trump saying the case is a sham and a scam.
The former President is in court with his eldest sons, their companies and Trump Organization executives.
Last week, a state Supreme Court judge found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud for grossly inflating asset valuations on financial statements, a finding that could spell the end of Trump’s business career in his former home state.
The trial will determine the amount of damages owed, the CNN reports, saying that the former president, his adult children, and his closest business advisers are listed as potential witnesses.
Judge Arthur Engoron handling the case has already ruled on one of the claims – persistent and repeated fraud – finding Trump, his adult sons, their businesses and executives liable for fraud.
Engoron will now decide on the six other claims: Falsifying business records, conspiracy to falsify business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud
The trial was expected to take up to three months but it will likely be shorter now that the fraud claim has already been settled.
The former president has said the civil fraud trial against him and his associates is a “continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time.”
Trump, before entering the courtroom went on to attack Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying “she was going to ‘get Trump’ before she even knew anything about me.”
“She used this to run for governor. She failed in her attempt to run for governor. She had virtually no following. She came back and she said, ‘well, now I will go back to get Trump again.’ And this what we have. It is a scam and a sham,” CNN quoted Trump as saying.