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Former President Donald Trump will travel to New York on Sunday and is planning to attend next week’s civil fraud trial against him, his business and some of his children, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Trump is expected to be in the Manhattan courtroom on Monday and Tuesday before departing on Wednesday, though the sources said his plans could always change.
The trial centers around the $250 million civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office that alleges the Trumps have been wildly exaggerating their business assets for years.
The judge who will preside over the trial has already determined that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. The case will be heard as a bench trial, meaning no jury.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron said in his ruling that Trump lied on his financial statements and was able to get favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums as a result.
That ruling also allowed the case to proceed to trial.
Trump and his two adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have denied any wrongdoing. Trump has accused James, a Democrat, of taking part in a partisan “witch hunt” against him.
Engoron in Tuesday’s ruling pointed to the claimed size of Trump’s New York apartment, among other issues. Trump submitted documents claiming it was 30,000 square feet, when it’s only around 11,000 square feet, which resulted in an overvaluation of between $114 million and $207 million, the judge wrote.
“A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” Engoron wrote.
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