New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday requested a civil judge order sanctions on Donald Trump and his attorneys on the grounds that they improperly cited previously rejected arguments when seeking the dismissal of the $250 million lawsuit, which alleges that the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets to get favorable loan and insurance rates and skirt taxes.
According to The Washington Post, James' office argued that lawyers for Trump and the other defendants made meritless arguments — that James doesn't have the authority to bring the suit against the former president and his companies, that the public was not harmed by his business dealings, and that firms were informed that his figures were not verified — in legal documents at least five times in the case, including most recently in a pretrial summary judgment motion submitted a month ago. Those claims were rejected by New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron thrice last year and by an appellate court in June.
Engoron could impose hefty sanctions and fines against Trump, his sons and his company in the bench trial slated for Oct. 2. James had previously asked Engoron to sanction the former president's legal team in January, arguing that their response to the suit hinged on a false denial of facts, but no sanctions were issued. A lawyer for the Trump family Tuesday night wrote a letter to the attorney general's office demanding the withdrawal of the most recent sanctions request.
The defense also separately sought a delay in the start of the trial Tuesday. To that, the presiding judge responded in nine words: "Decline to sign; Defendants' arguments are completely without merit."
