New York’s attorney general wants the Trump Organization to stand trial next year

Former President Donald Trump, his three children and his Trump Organization could face a civil trial on fraud charges as early as next year if the court approves an “expedited” deadline sought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

A lawyer for the attorney general’s office made the request in a statement Thursday, saying that because the lawsuit against the Trumps and their company “involves allegations of an ongoing scheme … it is imperative that this case proceed expeditiously.”

James announced the lawsuit Sept. 21, accusing Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and other company executives of a years-long scheme to falsely inflate the value of a wide range of properties in their international real estate empire.

Trump’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment, as did attorneys for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Ivanka Trump does not yet have a lawyer in this case.

The complaint accuses the company of more than 200 counts of false asset valuations, which it describes as derived from “objectively false assumptions and manifestly improper methodologies with the intent and purpose of falsely and fraudulently overstating Mr. Trump’s net worth in order to obtain favorable financial terms from lenders and insurers.” .

The lawsuit seeks $250 million from the state and the revocation of the Trump Organization’s business certificate, effectively barring it from doing business in New York. The suit also asks the judge to permanently bar Trump and his children named in the suit from serving as an officer or director of any business in New York, including their family’s company, and seeks a five-year ban on purchasing real estate in New York. or apply for loans from any company based in New York.

In asking for an expedited trial date, Senior Counsel for the Attorney General Kevin Wallace cited the “extensive litigation” that preceded the filing of the lawsuit.

Three-year-old investigation was seen as a “special process” in which a New York judge presided over a long series of contentious arguments about subpoenas and other matters in often public cases and hearings.

Trump attorney Alina Haba this week requested the case be transferred to another judge in the state Commerce Division, while Wallace argued in filings that “special production” judge Arthur Engaran is best suited to oversee the lawsuit.

Wallace wrote that it would be ineffective to ask the new judge to “increase the level of familiarity that Judge Engoran has already developed over several years” reviewing “thousands of documents” in the case.