Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, who presides over the civil fraud trial against Donald Trump, is known for his meticulous approach to law and has already found the defendants liable for fraud in a preliminary decision.
Photo: Seth Wenig/AP
Former President Donald Trump was in court on Monday for the opening of a civil fraud trial that could put his business empire and future at risk. The New York Attorney General’s office is seeking a $250 million fine against Trump for fraudulent financial practices, a case that also implicates two of his adult children.
New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump of inflating his net worth to cheat the system and unjustly enrich himself. Prosecutors say Trump inflated financial statements between $812 million and $2.2 billion to obtain favorable loan terms he was not entitled to.
Trump attempted to blame former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg but was deemed by the prosecution to be lying.
The trial scrutinizes the very foundation of Trump’s self-crafted image as a successful business magnate, an image he rode to the presidency. Should he lose, he and his organization could face a $250 million fine and could be barred from doing business in New York. The Attorney General’s Office aims to show that the rule of law applies to everyone, regardless of their power or wealth.
If convicted, the consequences for Trump are severe. Besides the monetary fines, Trump’s businesses could be forced to hand over control to a court-appointed receiver or even sell some of its most iconic properties. Trump’s adult children, also implicated in the case, could be barred from serving as officers in any New York corporation.
Trump, also a frontrunner in the Republican upcoming primary, is fighting multiple legal battles. He faces 91 felony charges in total, spanning from efforts to overturn the 2020 election results to mishandling classified material. The outcome of this trial…
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