Former President Donald Trump will testify in the civil fraud case the New York Attorney’s Office is pursuing against him on Nov. 6, following the testimony of his three adult children who have held posts in the Trump Organization, according to state prosecutors.
The trial began on Oct. 2, and New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron has predicted it will last through December. The judge has already ruled President Trump liable for fraud and ordered the disgorgement of his Trump Organization; the trial will deal with how much he has to pay in damages.
President Trump had already indicated earlier he was willing to testify in the case, though prosecutors hadn’t revealed when that would be until Oct. 27 in court.
Mr. Donald Trump Jr. is now set to testify on Nov. 1, Mr. Eric Trump on Nov. 2, and Ms. Trump on Nov. 3.
The schedule sets up a blockbuster stretch in the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit. She alleges that the former president, now the front-runner for the Republican nomination for 2024, overstated his wealth for years on financial statements that were given to banks, insurers, and others to help secure loans and deals.
On Oct. 28, President Trump denounced Ms. James and Justice Engoron for putting Ms. Trump on the witness stand even after an appeals court dismissed her from the case, citing the statute of limitations.
Ms. Trump’s lawyer, Bennet Moskowitz, told the judge on Oct. 27 that state lawyers “just don’t have jurisdiction over her.” One of President Trump’s attorneys, Christopher Kise, maintained that state lawyers “just want another free-for-all on another of President Trump’s children.”
President Trump has maintained that he did nothing wrong and that the financial statements at the center of the case were understated, not inflated as Ms. James claims.
“I also won on Appeal on Statute of Limitations, but he refuses to accept their decision. I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me. This case should have never started, but now must be dismissed. Financial Statements were LOW, NOT HIGH, had a 100% Disclaimer Clause, Banks were fully paid, ‘on time, on schedule,’ with never even a minor default, there was NO VICTIM, EXCEPT ME,” he wrote.
“Any other Judge in the Country would have thrown this case out on day one. He’s an out of control ‘Nut Job,’ who fined me $10,000 over a ridiculous Gag Order so that the publicity for the day would take over from the fact that Racist James and the Judge’s Star Witness admitted LYING TO CONGRESS on the stand - CASE OVER!”
President Trump has been attending the trial regularly, speaking with the press at regular intervals to give updates on what has unfolded in the courtroom. Last week, he was fined $10,000 by the judge after making statements about a person sitting “alongside” the judge, accusing the person of being partisan.
Justice Engoron put President Trump on the witness stand, asking him whether he was referring to his principal law clerk. President Trump said he had been referring to witness Michael Cohen, but the judge deemed him “not credible” and issued the fine. The judge had issued a gag order prohibiting parties from making public statements about his court staff on Oct. 3 and warned of severe sanctions. He had previously fined President Trump $5,000 for not taking a post about his clerk off a campaign website, after he had already deleted it from his social media.
President Trump has already paid the $15,000, according to court filings.
