An appeals court in the state of New York has rejected a push from former President Donald Trump’s corner to stop a trial that started just days prior on claims from New York state Attorney General Letitia James of fraud at the Trump family business.
The judge directly handling the civil case from James and subsequent trial, New York’s Arthur Engoron, already accepted a key component of James’ claims — that Trump perpetrated fraud at his business, pushing misleading claims of value for various assets.
Engoron also issued a ruling that directed dramatic action across various corporate entities tied to Trump, though as trial continues, there’s apparently some uncertainty about the full breadth of the real-world impacts the judge’s decision demands. Engoron’s ruling set in motion the selection of an individual known as a receiver to manage activity going forward at presumably at least key Trump entities based in New York, though the appeals court “agreed that control over the holdings will stay as-is for now,” The Washington Post reported Friday. The trial, though, is continuing, even as Trump continues his belligerent raging that has now moved more online after he departed the New York proceedings, which’ll continue in his absence.
Notably, the Post also notes that James’ team said in the course of Trump’s failed plea to the appeals court that they were already exploring possibilities for delaying the enforcement of Engoron’s earlier ruling as trial on the rest of James’ claims continued, meaning it’s not as though Trump would be losing all his assets right away — though the defense sought the court’s intervention anyway.
Going forward, one of the next to testify will be former top official at the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg, who has already served a prison sentence tied to tax allegations. Trump, meanwhile, recently suggested on Truth Social that his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago — the valuation of which has been a dispute in James’ case — was among the most highly-valued properties in the world, an absurd statement.
