New York.- Former US President Donald Trump arrived this Monday at the New York court where the civil trial against him begins for fraud that continued for years in the Trump Organization, a case promoted by the New York State Prosecutor’s Office, amid of a strong security device.
Trump warned that he would attend the oral arguments in person in order to clear his name and reputation, but he was not seen entering the steps in front of which the press was stationed, in a fenced-off Foley Square plaza filled with police. press, and protesters against him, since he did it through a side entrance.
The president entered the state Supreme Court around 9:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m.) and his sons Eric, Donald Jr. and other partners accused of inflating the value of the company’s assets to obtain economic advantages.
Inside, Trump told the media that this is a “continuation of the witch hunt” against him, considered the case a hoax and reaffirmed the validity of his financial statements under scrutiny and the value of his properties. .
Furthermore, and following a line of argument repeated for months, he alluded to alleged intentions to influence the upcoming elections – in which he starts as the Republican favorite -: “This has to do with electoral interference, pure and simple. They are trying to harm me so that I don’t do as well as I am doing in this election (next year).”
The prosecutor, Letitia James – whom Trump did not even look at – also made brief statements and assured that “justice will prevail” in the face of her arguments, which have already been sufficient for the judge to resolve the main charge in the case last week and will consider Trump, his company and his eldest children responsible for fraud, ordering the cancellation of their business licenses in the state.
Kevin Wallace, an attorney for the New York attorney general’s office, accused each of the defendants in Donald Trump’s civil case, including the former president, of participating in or having knowledge of fraudulent financial statement information and conspiring to commit persistent and repeated fraud.
Wallace urged the judge in his opening statement to ban Trump from doing business in New York. He alleged that Trump’s fraudulent financial statements convinced banks to take on hidden risks “worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
For his part, Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise, said his team has a “very different picture of the evidence. According to him, the former president’s real estate knowledge made him a billionaire.
“President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world,” Kise said. “He has literally made a fortune by being right about real estate.”
In the center of the square, a group of two dozen protesters observed the events with banners that accused Trump of being a criminal and questioned, for example, “how many lawyers do we need to screw up democracy?”
Even though they were few, they were the majority in front of half a dozen Trump defenders who wore signs like “Trump won,” as well as a cyclist who walked around waving a photograph with the slogan “never give up.”
Donald Trump said on his social networks that he will appear in person at the civil fraud trial that begins this Monday in New York.
“I will go to court to fight for my name and reputation against a corrupt and racist attorney general, Letitia James, who campaigned to ‘take over Trump,’ and a Trump-hating judge who is unfair, unhinged and cruel in every way.” his hunt against me,” he wrote on his Truth Social account.
According to CNN, the former president and current Republican primary candidate flew to New York City on Sunday night after a campaign event in Ottumwa, Iowa, and spent the night at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
The NYPD and the court have been making security preparations for Trump’s possible appearance this Monday and perhaps Tuesday as well.
The civil fraud case – filed in September 2022 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, against Trump, his eldest children, his companies and several executives – will begin today at 10 a.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT).
On September 28, a New York appeals court decided to maintain the start date of the civil trial against Trump for fraud in the Trump Organization for Monday, October 2.
Trump’s defense tried to delay the date of the procedure with a complaint of abuse of authority against Judge Arthur Engoron, after which an appeals court ordered on September 14 to paralyze the case before ruling.
In that complaint, Trump accused the judge of having acted negligently in rejecting a request from his defense, in which he asked him to dismiss most of the case because it was supposedly outside the statute of limitations.
However, in a brief decision issued last Thursday, the court decided to reject that appeal and lift the pause imposed on the process, allowing the planned schedule to be resumed.
Read also: Trump family, entangled in tax troubles
The Prosecutor’s Office had already warned that delaying the civil trial could have consequences on other pending litigation against the former president, including the four criminal cases against him.
Engoron has estimated that this trial will last about three months, although he said this before resolving a few days ago, summarily and at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the main charge, by declaring Trump, two of his children, his company and two partners (which could shorten the entire process).
Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization and two former executives were found liable for ongoing fraud for inflating the value of company assets for years to gain financial advantage.
The judge also ordered the defendants’ permits to do business in New York state be canceled.
The remaining six charges set to be tried starting Monday relate to “persistent illegalities” at the company, including falsifying corporate documents, issuing false financial statements and committing fraud against insurers.
Read also: “He can’t find his way out”: Trump mocks the falls that Joe Biden has suffered
The New York Prosecutor’s Office is demanding compensation of $250 million, which will also be determined in the process.
Both sides have submitted their lists of potential witnesses, which include the defendants.
This civil lawsuit against the former president is not related to the four criminal proceedings facing the first former president in the history of the United States who has been indicted.
In Georgia he faces a case for alleged interference in the 2020 elections; in New York, the process for irregular payments she made during the 2016 campaign to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels for an “affair” they had in the past.
In Florida he faces justice for having taken classified papers to his mansion in Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House in January 2021 and, finally, he must respond in Washington to the assault on the Capitol in 2021, in which his Supporters attempted to disrupt the legislative process to certify Biden’s 2020 victory.
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2023-10-02 15:46:11
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