Former President Donald Trump has indicated he will be present at his New York business fraud trial set for next week, according to recent court documents. These details emerged while Trump sought to postpone a deposition in a separate case.
The scheduled deposition for Trump in the case against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was set for Tuesday. However, given the clash with the commencement of the New York trial, a Miami judge approved the postponement, moving the Florida deposition to October 9.
In the lawsuit against Cohen, Trump contends that Cohen violated confidentiality agreements and disparaged him in public.
In explaining the decision to accommodate Trump’s schedule, Judge Edwin Torres stated that significant pretrial decisions meant Trump should be present, especially during the trial’s initial week where key strategy decisions would be made.
The underlying business fraud allegation claims that Trump and his sons gave misleading information to banks and insurance firms by adjusting the stated value of their assets, amounting to a discrepancy of at least $2.2 billion. A recent judgment found Trump and his organization guilty of fraud, with an upcoming trial to ascertain the financial implications.
Interestingly, Cohen might testify in the New York proceedings.
The New York legal team is pushing for a penalty of no less than $250 million and aims to prohibit Trump and his sons from managing businesses in the state. Should an anticipated appeal not be successful, the Trump Organization and Trump’s other state businesses might face dissolution, potentially resulting in the sale of some New York properties.
