New York’s attorney general sued the president using a state law that grants her wide powers to pursue corporate wrongdoing.
When a New York judge ruled on Tuesday that Donald J. Trump had committed fraud by inflating his assets, he was effectively saying that the facts at the heart of the case against Mr. Trump would not be subject to debate during a trial that could begin Monday.
The civil case was brought by Letitia James, the New York attorney general, in 2022, and accuses the former president and his family business of lying to lenders and insurers about the value of their properties in order to secure more favorable terms. In a so-called summary judgment days before the trial, Justice Arthur F. Engoron of State Supreme Court in Manhattan found that they had done so — and that Mr. Trump was liable.
It is not a normal fraud case. Rather, it was brought under a powerful New York statute that gives the attorney general wide scope to investigate and prosecute corporate fraud. Because that law is being used, the questions that remain will be decided by Justice Engoron in a bench trial — one decided by a judge rather than by a jury.What is a summary judgment?
In a civil case, either side, making an argument that some or all of the facts of a case are undisputed, can ask the judge for a decision without a full trial.
On Tuesday, Justice Engoron denied a motion by Mr.
