New York judge sets date for fraud trial against Trump

Donald Trump and his three oldest children will go to trial late next year in a civil lawsuit brought by the attorney general of New York accusing them of fraud, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Arthur Engoronof the Manhattan Supreme Court, set a trial date for October 2, 2023 for the case alleging that Trump and his family members misrepresented property values ​​to enrich themselves.

The trial — and a host of criminal, civil and congressional investigative cases facing Trump — will likely complicate the former president’s run toward a second term, which he announced last week.

The date, which Trump’s lawyers will likely try to push back, would be closer to the start of the primary season for the 2024 Republican presidential bid.

New York’s top prosecutor, Letitia James, sued Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and the Trump Organization in September alleging they lied to tax collectors, lenders and insurers for years.

James says they provided fraudulent statements of Trump’s net worth and false asset valuations “to obtain and satisfy loans, obtain insurance benefits and pay less taxes.”

The Democratic prosecutor has requested that Trump pay at least $250 million in fines – a sum she says he earned through fraud – and that his family be barred from running businesses in the state.

His office does not have the power to file criminal charges in the case.

Trump, 76, says the lawsuit is politically motivated. He has repeatedly tried to have it dismissed.

In addition, Trump faces legal scrutiny for his efforts to overturn the November 2020 election results and for the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol of the United States by his supporters.