Donald Trump in civil tax evasion trial in October 2023
New York justice has set October 2, 2023 for the civil trial of the former president and three of his sons, accused of fraudulent tax practices within the Trump Organization.
Donald Trump during the announcement of his presidential candidacy for 2024, on November 15, 2022, in Mar-a-Lago (Florida).
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In this case, New York State Attorney General Letitia James accuses the Republican billionaire and his sons of “deliberately” manipulating the valuations of assets of the group, which includes golf clubs, luxury hotels and other properties, to get better loans from banks or cut taxes.
He is seeking $250 million in damages on behalf of the state, as well as a ban on running companies for the former president and his relatives. Also targeted are three children of the former president, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump. New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Tuesday set a trial schedule for December 2022 to October 2, 2023, when the trial begins.
Donald Trump, who officially announced last week that he is running for president in 2024, is the subject of several legal proceedings, but is not yet the subject of any charges. Three days after this candidacy statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to take over two ongoing US justice investigations: one into Donald Trump’s efforts to change the results of the presidential election 2020, the other on managing the White House archives.
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This special prosecutor will have the task of saying whether to indict Donald Trump in either of these two cases, but it will be up to the minister to decide. The former president (2017-2021) emerged weakened from the midterm elections in November, after less than expected results for Republicans and several defeats of candidates he supports, while one of his rivals faces the primaries of his party , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was triumphantly re-elected.
The US Supreme Court also allowed the transfer of the former president’s tax returns on Tuesday, rejecting a final appeal by Donald Trump. A committee of the House of Representatives, in the hands of the Democrats until January, has been asking for the documents sent to the tax authorities by the billionaire between 2015 and 2020 for three years.
But, unlike all the occupants of the White House since the 1970s, Donald Trump has consistently refused to release his tax returns and fought fiercely in court to block Congress’s request. Donald Trump’s lack of transparency, which made his wealth a campaign argument, has fueled speculation for years about the size of his fortune or potential conflicts of interest.
However, the transfer of his tax records to Congress does not necessarily lift the veil on the events of the seventy-year-old. The commission, which has asked for these tax returns to develop ethical rules about the business of presidents, is not expected to make them public. In January, Republicans will regain control of the House of Representatives and likely quit that job.
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