The New York attorney general wants to expedite her civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, his family members and the Trump Organization, and set a trial date before the end of 2023.
In a court filing Thursday, Attorney General Letitia James said the Trumps have tried to delay the investigation into alleged ongoing fraud.
“…Given the fact that this action involves allegations of an ongoing scheme and conspiracy to obtain millions of dollars through fraudulent activity, and that defendants repeatedly have sought to delay the conclusion of the (Office of the Attorney General’s) investigation, it is imperative that this case proceed quickly,” the court filing stated.
In the more than 200-page lawsuit filed earlier this month, James, a Democrat, alleged the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.
The $250 million civil suit was assigned to state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who has been overseeing related pending legal matters including subpoenas. The attorney general’s office argued that the case should stay before Engoron “in the interest of judicial economy,” since he has already familiarized himself with thousands of pages of documents related to the case.
“For more than two years he has overseen the conduct of the investigation that led to this enforcement proceeding,” the AG’s office said. “While the legal issues before Justice Engoron were tied to the enforcement of investigative subpoenas, the factual issues overlapped almost completely with the allegations in the complaint in this action.”
An attorney for Trump and his company requested in a filing for the case to be assigned to the commercial division of the court, saying the case meets the jurisdictional standards to be assigned there. The Trumps have rejected all of the allegations, calling the lawsuit a political stunt.