The massive civil fraud trial that put former President Trump's business empire at risk, which gave him fame and his rise to the presidency, came to a close on Thursday, with his defense team and state attorney asking the judge for the final verdict. Make an argument.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) told Judge Arthur Engoron to permanently bar President Trump from New York real estate business and for falsely altering his net worth in material financial statements to receive taxes and taxes. , seeks to compel payment of approximately $370 million in fines. Insurance benefits. Trump, his company and several executives, including his adult son, have denied any wrongdoing.
The former president is scheduled to make his final appearance in New York Supreme Court on Thursday, but he unexpectedly halted his campaign to balance legal issues with his 2024 presidential bid.
Trump is not required to attend the fraud trial, but has made regular appearances on the witness stand and in stump speeches in the courthouse hallway to denounce the case as politically motivated. .
The conclusion of the case comes at a critical time in President Trump's campaign, just days before the Iowa caucuses. Any remarks by President Trump could shift the spotlight away from his main Republican rivals in a crucial race.
It also could provide a blueprint for how President Trump approaches his growing court schedule in 2024.
Over two and a half months, lawyers from the New York attorney general's office and Mr. Trump's defense team presented about 40 witnesses who provided new insight into Mr. Trump's finances and business dealings.
At the center of the New York attorney general's lawsuit was President Trump's financial statement detailing the value of various Trump Organization assets, and the company's financial statements detailing the value of various assets of the Trump Organization. Sent.
One of the expert witnesses hired by the state, Michelle McCarty, chairman and CEO of M.M. Dillon & Co., said the Trump Organization's distorted financial statements led to the bank losing $100 million on four projects. He testified that he may have lost more than $68 million in interest.
Another witness, Nicholas Haig, a former head of risk management at Deutsche Bank, said the documents show two loans, specifically a $125 million loan to President Trump's Doral, Fla., golf resort in 2011 and a $107 million loan to President Trump's golf resort in Doral, Florida. He testified that he played a key role in getting the loan approved. In 2012, we loaned 1 million yen to a hotel in Chicago. Haig said the financial statements allowed Trump to secure larger loans at lower interest rates.
“Conclusion that Defendants intended to defraud in producing and certifying President Trump’s documents. [statements of financial condition] Inevitable. “The myriad deceptive schemes they used to inflate property values and hide facts were so outrageous that they belied any explanation of their innocence,” state attorneys said in their final written arguments before the case's conclusion. This was stated in the post-trial brief.
Trump downplayed the importance of financial statements in his own testimony, testifying that they were “not a document that banks really cared about.” He and his lawyers also argued that the bank needed to do its “independent due diligence” and not just rely on the Trump Organization's written statements.
Deutsche Bank executives appear to have strengthened their case in defense testimony. Deutsche Bank managing director David Williams said bankers look at net worth reports independently and view clients' financial position reports as “subjective or subject to estimates.” . But bankers also expect their customers' information to be “accurate,” he said.
Mr. Trump's lawyers argued in post-trial briefs that the banks wanted to work with the Trump Organization and found no wrongdoing, a claim they reiterated at trial.
“Errors and misstatements occur all the time in accounting. Absent any indication of fraud, such as concealment, forgery, or deception, there is no basis for determining that these errors or misstatements occurred.” [statements of financial condition] is fraudulent, and the misrepresentations are merely accidental mistakes,” the defense brief states.
President Trump's adult children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, have also distanced themselves from their father's financial statements.
The brothers, defendants in the case, argued in a post-trial brief that the attorney general had failed to prove that they had “more than peripheral knowledge of or involvement in the preparation, preparation, or use” of their father's financial statements. did. They asked the judge to dismiss the case against them in its entirety. Ivanka Trump had previously been dismissed from the lawsuit.
Before the trial began, Mr. Engoron found Mr. Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud, and determined that the New York attorney general's office had proven the core of the case. The case also addresses other allegations, including conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsification of business records. Engoron is overseeing a non-jury court trial that will ultimately decide the case, which could be handed down within the month.
That ruling, along with a gag order that barred Trump and his lawyers from commenting on Engoron's court staff, put the judge in Trump's direct line of sight throughout the case, putting him in the former president's political message. It became the material for
On the first day of the trial, President Trump went on a rant outside the courtroom, accusing Engoron of “interfering with the election” and suggesting he should face “criminal charges” for overseeing the incident. Immediately after the court was dismissed, Trump's campaign sent a flurry of fundraising emails denouncing the trial's political nature and calling it a “witch hunt” against Trump.
On the stand, he blasted judges and state attorneys general, calling them “Trump haters,” “frauds,” and “political hacks” who were trying to keep them out of the White House.
“Do you have control over your client?” Engoron asked Trump's lawyer at one point. “This is not a political rally.”
With all cameras trained on him, Trump has repeatedly changed his traditional campaign destinations, especially for court appearances where he doesn't have to attend.
On Tuesday, the former president appeared in person in D.C. federal court to hear arguments before a federal appeals panel over whether he has broad immunity from prosecution as president on charges related to the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Trump's lawyers last month announced that he will face a trial starting next week to determine how much he owes columnist E. Jean Carroll for defamation after accusing her of sexually abusing him 30 years ago. He said he may testify.
His court appearances have only helped his campaign, where he maintains a commanding lead over his Republican rivals in key primary states and across the country.
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