This week outside a court building in New York, state Attorney General Letitia James laid down the law ahead of imminent testimony from Ivanka Trump in a case that James brought accusing the Trumps of a years-long pattern of fraud. (Ivanka herself is no longer a direct target of the civil lawsuit from James, but she was compelled to testify.)
James was speaking after high-profile Monday testimony from Donald Trump himself, who does remain under direct threat of serious consequences. An expert witness previously estimated savings for the Trump family’s businesses via what were argued to be inappropriately low interest rates reached $168 million, and the state is pushing for a penalty called disgorgement. Imposing such would involve a financial penalty that would seemingly cover the entirety of corporate profits tied to key acts found to violate the relevant legal standards.
“This case will go on. We look forward to hearing the testimony of Ivanka Trump on Wednesday,” James remarked to gathered journalists. “And then we plan on closing our case. And then there’ll be some motions on Thursday. […] Justice will prevail. And it’s important that all of you understand that we have already been victorious in our motion for summary judgment. And now we look forward to disgorgement and to the remaining counts in our action against Donald Trump and his repeated and consistent fraud against the citizens of the great state of New York.”
The judge, as James mentioned, already found Trump to have perpetrated fraud, though there were remaining allegations from the state to decide, like falsifying records. Through the weeks of the trial thus far, witnesses have ranged from allies of Trump’s to Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney for the ex-president who infamously turned on him. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump also testified, both proving predictably dismissive. Watch James below:
James: He rambled. He hurled insults. But we expected that… We look forward to hearing the testimony of Ivanka Trump. Justice will prevail. And it’s important that all of you understand that we have already been victorious in our motion for summary judgment… pic.twitter.com/zET7vesyMF
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 6, 2023