Donald Trump asked a judge to delay the trial in the New York attorney general’s $250 million civil fraud suit, saying the current Oct. 2 date doesn’t give him enough time to craft a defense.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump asked a judge to delay the trial in the New York attorney general’s $250 million civil fraud suit, saying the current Oct. 2 date doesn’t give him enough time to craft a defense.
Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a court filing late Thursday that the former president needs more time to gather testimony from expert witnesses and review millions of pages of evidence handed over by Attorney General Letitia James.
“While granting such relief ultimately impacts the trial date, there is simply no demonstrable urgency in getting this case to trial,” Habba said. The current schedule is “extraordinarily expedited and unprecedented,” she said.
Habba asked to extend several deadlines in the case, in New York state court, into early December but didn’t propose a new trial date. She also asked for leeway to subpoena a long list of big financial companies — including Bank of New York, Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley — in addition to those from which she has already demanded information.
Justice Arthur Engoron in Manhattan said at a recent hearing that the trial would start in October “come hell or high water.”
Legal Threats
James sued Trump, three of his adult children and his company in September for allegedly manipulating the value of his assets and reaping $250 million in ill-gotten financial benefits as a result. She is also seeking to bar the Trumps from ever again serving as officers of a company in the state. The case is among the biggest legal threats to Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House in 2024.
James has repeatedly suggested that Trump would attempt to delay the trial and has urged the court to reject any such effort. One of her senior lawyers, Kevin Wallace, signaled his concerns at a Nov. 22 hearing.
“They have been drawing out this pretrial process, and I think that this is all just their game of delay, delay, delay,” Wallace said. “They are trying to push this into 2024. They are trying to take as long as they can.”
James’s press office declined to comment on the filing.
QuickTake: What Trump’s Legal Perils Mean for His 2024 Candidacy
Trump argues a delay would pose no risk to the public because James has already won the appointment of an independent monitor “with extensive oversight authority” over the defendants’ assets and business operations.
“With the monitor in place, there is simply not even arguable potential harm presented by the requested extension,” Habba said.
Big Banks
Habba also asked the court in her filing to increase the number of defense depositions to 30 from 10, saying the limit is “fundamentally unfair” given the number of banks and insurers the Trump Organization was worked with.
The Trumps have already sent subpoenas to representatives of Deutsche Bank and Zurich North America, Habba said, but they may need to subpoena many others. Besides Bank of New York, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, they include Aon, Capital One, Tokio Marine HCC and Ladder Capital.
The case is New York v. Trump, 452564/2022, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Manhattan).
(Updates with further context in second section and Trump plans to subpoena more lenders in first and last sections.)
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