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In
a Wednesday night court filing, Attorney General Letitia James
said her office had provided Trump and other defendants with an
"enormous quantity" of material, including 1.7 million documents
and interview transcripts for 56 witnesses.
She said that negates their plea for an extra six months to
gather evidence to defend themselves adequately at trial, now
scheduled for Oct. 2, and accused them of being slow to conduct
their own witness depositions.
"The record defendants have and are compiling is more than
sufficient to afford them due process and prevent the trial from
becoming a game of surprise," James said.
"When the calendar turns over into 2024, Donald J. Trump will be
in the midst of a campaign for President," she added.
"Defendants have used his campaign as a reason for delay in both
2016 and 2020. There is no reason to believe 2024 will be any
different."
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond on
Thursday to requests for comment.
Arthur Engoron, the judge who oversees the case, has scheduled a
March 21 hearing to consider the trial schedule.
James sued Trump, three of his adult children, the Trump
Organization and others last September, following a three-year
probe.
The $250 million lawsuit concerns an alleged decade-long scheme
to manipulate more than 200 asset valuations and Trump's net
worth, to win better terms from banks and insurers.
Trump, a Republican, has called James' case a partisan witch
hunt. James is a Democrat.
The case is separate from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin
Bragg's criminal probe into a hush money payment to keep porn
star Stormy Daniels quiet before the 2016 presidential election
about her alleged affair with Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark
Potter)
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