Trump Will Attend NYC Fraud Trial Next Week, Reports Say

Topline

Former President Donald Trump is expected to return to a New York City courtroom next week for the fraud trial against him and his company, multiple outlets report, as the ex-president continues to oppose the civil case against him and attack New York Attorney General Letitia James and the judge overseeing the trial.

Former President Donald Trump appears in the courtroom for the third day of his civil fraud trial at … [+] New York State Supreme Court on October 4 in New York City.

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Key Facts

Trump is expected to attend multiple days of the trial next week, beginning on Tuesday, according to anonymous sources cited by ABC News and the Messenger, which first reported on the president’s plans.

Last week, the ex-president attended the first three days of the trial, which concerns whether he, his business associates and his company fraudulently misstated the value of their assets to obtain more favorable business deals and boost Trump’s net worth.

Trump gave regular press conferences during his appearances at the trial, with Rolling Stone reporting Trump and his team are trying to turn the case into a “media circus” as he fights the charges against him.

Trump has routinely decried the case as a “witch hunt” against him and attacked James, who brought the case, and Judge Arthur Engoron, who Trump claims is biased against him—Engoron issued a gag order against Trump and other parties in the case last week after the ex-president made a disparaging post about one of the judge’s clerks.

The trial next week is expected to include testimony from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen—who has since become extremely critical of the former president and claimed he inflated his assets—with Cohen telling the Messenger, “It’s been five years since we have seen one another … I look forward to the reunion.”

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung and attorneys Christopher Kise and Alina Habba have not yet responded to requests for comment.

What To Watch For

The trial, now in its second week, is expected to continue through December. Trump is expected to testify in the trial as well, though it’s unclear when that will take place. Engoron has already found Trump and his company liable for fraud ahead of the trial, ruling they misstated the valuations of their assets, but the trial is still continuing on other charges, as well as to determine penalties in the case and whether Trump and his associates knowingly committed fraud. The judge has already ordered Trump’s business certificates to be canceled—though an appeals court has put that ruling on hold—but Trump could still face additional punishments like a $250 million fine and him and his children being prohibited from running any companies in New York.

Crucial Quote

Trump continued to oppose the trial against him on Truth Social Thursday, decrying the “Radical Left New York AG” and “Liberal Democrat Judge” and claiming the case “never should have been brought.” The former president defendant a “PERFECT LOAN” the company had with Deutsche Bank after the bank’s former head of risk management testified at the trial, saying the Trump Organization paid off their loans ahead of time and “there were no Victims” of any valuations they had, “there were only happy Bankers!”

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.6 billion as of October, which is based largely on his real estate holdings. The AG’s office alleged at the trial that Trump and his associates had inflated numbers on financial documents in the past in part to improve Trump’s ranking on Forbes’ billionaire list. Trump ranked 1217th on this year’s billionaires list, and did not make the cut on the 2023 Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

Key Background

James sued Trump, his associates, his children and the Trump Organization in November 2022, alleging they fraudulently inflated the value of their assets for personal gain, including such properties as Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate and Manhattan penthouse. Trump and his attorneys have strenuously denied the allegations, claiming the valuations are subjective and based on Trump’s real estate expertise—an argument Engoron has thus far rejected, calling it out of a “fantasy world” in his ruling finding the ex-president liable for fraud. Since beginning last week, the trial has included testimony from a number of Trump Organization and financial executives about how the company valued their properties and prepared financial statements, and how those documents were viewed by their creditors and accountants. With key witnesses like Trump, his children and Cohen still yet to take the stand, the biggest figure to testify thus far has been former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg. The executive testified Trump reviewed financial statements that included inflated valuations until he became president and Weisselberg argued he wasn’t aware financial statements that he signed off on included an inflated square footage for Trump’s Manhattan penthouse—a claim that Forbes believes to be false.