A New York state judge on Wednesday denied Donald Trump’s request to delay the start of a scheduled Oct. 2 trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud lawsuit accusing the former president, his family, and the Trump Organization of inflating the value of his assets.
Trump’s lawyers late Tuesday asked Justice Arthur F. Engoron to “briefly” delay the trial until three weeks after he ruled on both sides' requests for summary judgments, which seek victory on various legal issues without the need for a trial.
"A trial of this magnitude should not begin in chaos," his attorneys wrote. "The court and the defendants are entitled to know the claims and issues to be tried sufficiently in advance to prepare adequately for trial."
Engoron called Trump’s arguments for a delay “completely without merit.”
Earlier this year he said the trial date would not change “come hell or high water.”
In a separate filing, Trump also asked that James withdraw what he called her "frivolous" motion to sanction the defendants and their lawyers $20,000 for continuing to raise arguments that Engoron has rejected.
James is seeking at least $250 million, and to bar Trump and his sons from leading their family business.
The defendants have denied wrongdoing, and Trump has called James' case part of a partisan "witch hunt."
In another legal development on Wednesday, a federal judge found Trump liable for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll by denying in 2019 that he had raped her, and said jurors will decide only how much Trump owes in damages.
Trump has separately pleaded not guilty to charges in four separate federal and state criminal indictments, including two indictments for attempting to reverse his 2020 election loss.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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