Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, October 24, 2023.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to testify Monday in the $250 million civil fraud trial that threatens to torpedo his family's business empire.
New York Attorney General Letitia James seeks to permanently bar Trump and his two adult sons from running a business in the Empire State because, she says, they have engaged in years of financial fraud.
Trump insists the financial statements at the heart of the case were never meant to be definitive.
Legal experts say that unlike a criminal case, where a defendant opting to take the Fifth cannot be held against them, in a civil case, a judge can draw an adverse inference from a witness' refusal to testify.
Persons:
Donald Trump, Letitia James, Trump, James, Michael Cohen
Organizations:
U.S, Trump Organization, Court, New York
Locations:
New York, Manhattan, New York City