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A civil trial in which Donald J. Trump is accused of fraudulently inflating the values of his properties for now can go forward next week, after a New York appeals court on Thursday rejected the former president’s last-ditch attempt to have evidence against him thrown out.
The appeals court, in a terse two-page order, turned aside Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against the judge, Arthur F. Engoron, which sought to delay the trial.
The ruling came two days after Justice Engoron issued an order that struck a major blow to Mr. Trump, finding him liable for having committed fraud by persistently overvaluing his assets and stripping him of control over his New York properties. Justice Engoron sided with the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who last year sued Mr. Trump, accusing him of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain favorable loan terms from banks.
A trial, the result of which would be decided by Justice Engoron, not a jury, would resolve other aspects of the case, most notably whether Mr. Trump and his company will face other punishments, including a financial penalty. Ms. James is seeking to recover $250 million in ill-gotten gains.
Mr. Trump is not entirely out of options in blocking the trial from moving forward. He can still appeal Justice Engoron’s Tuesday order, but it is unclear whether the appeals court would consider that.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS