New York Attorney General Letitia James intends to summon former President Donald Trump and three of his children as witnesses in their upcoming civil fraud trial.
In the lawsuit brought by Ms. James, Judge Arthur Engoron has already determined that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers, and others by inflating his net worth to secure larger loans and better insurance rates.
Judge Engoron found that Mr. Trump, his adult sons Eric and Don Jr., and other defendants fraudulently increased the value of properties, including Mar-a-Lago, his Fifth Avenue apartment, 40 Wall Street, Trump Park Avenue, golf courses, and an upstate New York estate.
The judge also decided to revoke some of Mr. Trump’s business licenses and appoint an independent monitor to oversee the operations of the Trump Organization.
A non-jury trial is scheduled for October 2nd, and Ms. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and aims to prohibit Mr. Trump from conducting business in New York.
The former president is slated to be the second-to-last witness out of 28. His sons Eric and Don Jr. will testify immediately before him as the 25th and 26th witnesses, respectively.
Ivanka Trump, who is not a defendant in the case, will be the 14th witness. The first witness to be called is Donald Bender of Mazars USA, a former accountant for Mr. Trump.
Other individuals on Ms. James’ list include Mr. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg.
There are also 25 additional people named in the filing who could be called if necessary.
The defendant’s witness list includes over 125 individuals, including Mr. Trump and his two sons.
Alina Habba, the legal spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, stated on Tuesday that the judge’s finding of fraud was “fundamentally flawed” and would be appealed.
