Trump, his adult children expected to testify in N.Y. fraud trial soon
NEW YORK — Donald Trump and three of his adult children are scheduled to testify between Nov. 1 and Nov. 6 in the $250 million civil fraud case that alleges years of financial misconduct by the Trump Organization and those who run it.
The announcement of the Trump family’s upcoming courtroom appearances was made on Friday after New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Ivanka Trump, who is no longer a named defendant in the case, may be called by attorneys from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James to testify under subpoena.
The former president — who is a named defendant along with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — is slated to be the last of the four Trump family witnesses, expected to take the stand on Nov. 6, the day before Election Day.
Trump is running for president again in 2024, and currently has a wide lead over the rest of the Republican pack.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, both executives at the Trump Organization, will testify on James’s direct case on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The former president and his sons are expected to be called by their attorneys a second time later in the trial, which opened Oct. 2 and could continue until nearly the end of December.
Ivanka Trump, who is no longer actively involved in Trump Organization business, is scheduled to testify Friday, Nov. 3. Her attorney could appeal Engoron’s decision, potentially stalling her appearance.
James’s lawsuit alleges that the company and its executives purposely inflated the value of Trump’s net worth by up to $2.2 billion from 2011 to 2021 to get better loan rates from lenders and lower insurance premiums. The company and the Trump family have denied wrongdoing.
Ivanka Trump was dismissed from the case in June by an appellate ruling that said her involvement in the business transactions at issue was excluded by the statute of limitations.
Trump has made multiple appearances already to observe the trial, which will be decided by a judge and does not include a jury. Most recently, he sat at the defense table on Wednesday, when his former adviser and attorney Michael Cohen testified against him.
On that day, Trump was fined $10,000 for making a statement in the hallway that appeared to accuse Engoron and his law clerk of being overly partisan. After Trump had posted about the clerk on social media earlier in the trial, Engoron imposed a gag order barring Trump from making comments about the judge’s staff.