New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million lawsuit against Donald Trump alleging fraudulent business practices will continue, a judge ruled on Friday, dismissing arguments by Trump’s legal team to dismiss it as “frivolous.”
James filed the lawsuit in September against Trump, the family-run Trump Organization, his three oldest adult children who have served as company executives, and chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. The case is scheduled to begin in October.
The suit accuses the Trumps and the Trump Organization – which operates real estate, golf resort and hospitality businesses – of knowingly lying to lenders and insurers about the value of the former president’s assets in order to secure favorable loan terms and low insurance premiums.
If successful, the suit could harm the company’s ability to do business in New York.
Trump and his lawyers have denied wrongdoing, and the former president has accused James of launching a politically biased “witch hunt” against him.
In rejecting the move to dismiss the case, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday blasted the Trump team for its “reckless” actions.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said the decision will be appealed.
Engoron wrote that “sophisticated defense counsel should have known better” than to make baseless arguments that had been shot down in previous motions. One of the chestnuts that has been rejected is the “witch hunt” claim, Engoron wrote.
“Reading the argument was, to quote baseball sage Lawrence Peter (“Yogi”) Berra, ‘Deja vu all over again,'” the judge wrote.
Engoron also rejected a separate attempt by Ivanka Trump, who is named as a defendant in James’ lawsuit, to drop the charges against him.
James responded in a statement after Engoron’s decision: “Once again, Donald Trump’s attempt to evade the law has been rejected.”
He added: “We are prosecuting Mr. Trump because we found that he engaged in years of financial fraud to enrich himself and cheat the system.” The decision “makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law and must answer for his actions in court,” James said.
If the lawsuit goes ahead as scheduled in October, it will come when Trump will be re-elected president in 2024.
The lawsuit alleges business practices by the Trump Organization are “stunning” fraud. James called the act the “art of the steal,” a reference to Trump’s infamous ghostwritten book “The Art of the Deal.”
Meanwhile, Trump is still under criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is looking into his company’s practices in how assets are valued for loans and insurance.