- New York AG Leticia James wants to go to trial against the Trump family before the end of 2023.
- Her office filed an application asking for "an expedited trial schedule."
New York Attorney General Leticia James' office is pushing to take the Trump family to court before the end of 2023.
According to the letter filed by James' office on Thursday, her team is looking to move fast on its $250 million civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization.
James filed a sprawling case against former President Donald Trump, his three eldest children, and his business on September 21. She has accused the former president of falsely inflating his net worth by billions of dollars and is also looking to bar the Trumps from conducting business in New York.
The letter states that James' office seeks "an expedited preliminary conference to set a trial date before the end of 2023."
"Given the fact that this action involves allegations of an ongoing scheme and conspiracy to obtain millions of dollars through fraudulent activity, and that defendants repeatedly have sought to delay the conclusion of OAG's investigation, it is imperative that this case proceed quickly," wrote Kevin Wallace, senior enforcement counsel and an investigator on the case.
The letter argued for the retention of Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron as the case's presiding judge, citing his familiarity with the probe. It also stated that the case should "remain before Justice Engoron and not be transferred to the Commercial Division in the interest of judicial economy."
Wallace's letter came in response to a request filed by Alina Habba, Trump's lawyer, on Wednesday to move the case to the New York Supreme Court's Commercial Division. She also accused the attorney general's office of trying to prevent the case from being reassigned to another judge.
In his letter, Wallace also suggested that "an expedited trial schedule on an enforcement proceeding after extensive litigation over subpoena enforcement is precisely the circumstance that warrants keeping this case before Justice Engoron in the interests of judicial economy."
In April, Engoron held Trump in contempt of court for dodging a subpoena. The former president was ordered to pay a $10,000-a-day fine for not complying with subpoenas demanding his personal business documents.