Donald J. Trump’s trial will continue Monday in a New York courtroom with him on the witness stand, part of a proceeding that threatens the business empire that underpins his public persona and that fostered his run for the White House.
The trial stems from a lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, which accuses Mr. Trump and other defendants, including his companies and sons Donald Jr. and Eric, of fraudulently inflating the value of assets to obtain favorable loans and insurance deals.
For the past five weeks, lawyers from the attorney general’s office have argued that Mr. Trump’s employees arbitrarily assigned values to individual assets to arrive at the former president’s desired net worth.
Mr. Trump’s attorneys have responded that the assets had no objective value and that differing valuations are standard in real estate.
The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, ruled even before the trial that Mr. Trump and the other defendants were liable for fraud, and that their annual financial statements were filled with examples of such misconduct.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump’s, Letitia James, Trump, Donald Jr, Eric, Arthur F, Engoron
Organizations:
White, New
Locations:
New York