This post has been updated several times since it was originally published to include recent facts
Donald Trump arrived at New York Supreme Court on Monday, October 2nd for the $250M civil fraud case filed against him, his eldest sons, their companies, and Trump Organization executives by New York Attorney General Letitia James. They are accused of violating state criminal laws, deceiving lenders and insurers, and fraudulently exaggerating their assets by using misleading appraisals from 2011 to 2021 to make themselves and their businesses wealthier. And as expected, Trump had a few things to say about it!
In an eight-minute tirade as he arrived in court, according to the Associated Press and Sky News, the former president suggested that James’ lawsuit was simply brought to “hurt” him during his latest presidential run, calling the case “a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time.” He added: “It’s a scam. It’s a sham. What we have here is an attempt to hurt me in an election. I don’t think the people of this country are going to stand for it.”
Attorney General Previously Asked Judge To Sanction Donald Trump And His Children In Fraud Lawsuit
Here's what we previously wrote about the lawsuit. On Tuesday, January 31st, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office reportedly asked a judge to sanction Trump, 77, his sons Donald Trump Jr, 45, and Eric Trump, 39, and daughter Ivanka Trump, 41, as well as their attorneys, after being unsatisfied with the "verified answers" they gave in response to the $250M civil fraud lawsuit she filed back in September last year.
According to CNN, the responses given by their attorneys and other defendants repeatedly denied or said that they lacked "sufficient knowledge" to answer many of the allegations, which then led James to ask New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who previously denied the Trumps’ motions to dismiss the lawsuit, to reject some of their defenses and sanction the defendants and their attorneys.
"A cursory review of the Verified Answers reveals that a number of the denials are demonstrably false and actually contradict sworn statements by the Defendants in other proceedings," James' lawyers wrote.
"Ivanka Trump denies 'knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief' as to whether she personally met with bankers, or whether she can confirm the contents of her own emails," the attorneys continued, adding: "The Court has already admonished Defendants and their counsel for their continued invocation of meritless legal claims but exercised its discretion in not imposing such sanctions, 'having made its point.' It does not appear that this point was taken, however, and OAG would ask the Court to renew the issue."
New York Judge Previously Denies Donald Trump’s Motion To Dismiss $250M Lawsuit
Back in January, Engoron denied motions from the former president to dismiss the $250M fraud lawsuit. "The statements of financial condition were greatly exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false, and therefore fraudulent and illegal," James said at the time after the lawsuit had been filed. "Claiming money that you do not have does not amount to the 'Art of the Deal.' It’s the Art of the Steal."
If James' lawsuit is successful, Trump will be prohibited from engaging in real estate transactions in New York for five years, as well as permanently being banned from serving as an officer or a director of a New York corporation.
Judge Calls Trump Lawyers' Arguments 'Frivolous'
Engoron deemed some of the arguments the family's lawyers brought forward to dismiss the lawsuit as "frivolous," having previously rejected some of their legal arguments after he appointed an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization's business dealings.
In a written order on January 6th, Engoron said, "The first three arguments were borderline frivolous even the first-time defendants made them. Reading these arguments was, to quote the baseball sage Lawrence Peter ('Yogi') Berra, 'Déjà vu all over again.'"
Engoron also added that he could have rightfully imposed sanctions for "frivolous litigation" on Trump’s "sophisticated" defense lawyers who "should have known better" but decided against it. "In its discretion this Court will not impose sanctions, which the Court believes are unnecessary, having made its point," he added. In addition to this, Engoron also rejected claims from the Trump family that some of the alleged fraudulent conduct had actually happened outside the statute of limitations allowed under law.
Ivanka argued that the accusations against her should be dismissed, since she left the Trump Organization in 2017 to work full time as a White House senior advisor, and therefore the claims are time-barred. She also added that she didn't personally falsify any business records, but Engoron dismissed this, saying that she could still be liable for being part of "continuing wrongs."
Naturally, James was thrilled with Engoron's decision, and gave her thoughts via a short statement obtained by the Washington Post. "Once again, Donald Trump’s attempts to evade the law have been rejected," James said in the statement. "We sued Mr. Trump because we found that he engaged in years of extensive financial fraud to enrich himself and cheat the system," she added. "Today’s decision makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law and must answer for his actions in court."
