Key moments in New York attorney general's fraud case against Donald Trump

[October 03, 2023]  (Reuters) -Donald Trump, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others will go on trial on Monday in a New York state court in Manhattan, in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump has denied wrongdoing, and called the case a witch hunt.

The following is a timeline of key developments in the case:

2019: James begins her probe.

August 2020: James discloses the probe in a court filing.

October 2020: One of Donald Trump's sons, Eric Trump, testifies under oath in a deposition, and invokes his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 500 times.

February 2022: The judge overseeing the case, Justice Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan Supreme Court, enforces subpoenas requiring Donald Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, to testify under oath in depositions. Each testifies after a state appeals court upholds the subpoenas.

April 2022: Engoron holds Trump in contempt for being too slow to respond to a subpoena for documents. He lifts the order in June 2022 after Trump pays a $110,000 fine.

August 2022: Trump testifies under oath in a deposition, and invokes his right against self-incrimination more than 400 times.

Sept. 21, 2022: James sues Trump, his three adult children, the Trump Organization, former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and others.

She says Trump oversaw a "staggering fraud" for more than a decade by inflating his net worth and the value of 23 assets including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his Manhattan penthouse, office buildings, hotels and golf courses.

Trump calls the lawsuit by James, who is Black, "Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General."

Nov. 3, 2022: Engoron orders the hiring of an independent watchdog to oversee the Trump Organization.

Jan. 6, 2023: Engoron refuses to dismiss James' case, rejecting defense claims that she waited too long to sue and did not establish fraud. He calls some of Trump's arguments "borderline frivolous."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump arrive at Trump Tower, after former President Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, U.S April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/ File Photo

March 3, 2023: Trump seeks to delay James' case by six months, citing "fundamental fairness and due process" given the "staggering" volume of materials. The request came after Engoron said the trial would begin on Oct. 2 "come hell or high water."

April 13, 2023: Trump is again questioned under oath in a deposition.

June 27, 2023: A state appeals court in Manhattan, the Appellate Division, dismisses James' case against Ivanka Trump because the attorney general missed a deadline to sue her. It says Engoron can narrow parts of the remaining case because some claims might be too old.

Aug. 30, 2023: James says Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion, and asks Engoron to declare as a matter of law that Trump committed fraud.

Sept. 8, 2023: James boosts her maximum estimate for how much Trump inflated his net worth to $3.6 billion.

Sept. 14, 2023: The defendants sue Engoron, seeking to halt the trial until he decides whether to dismiss most of James' claims. A state appeals court judge grants a temporary pause, pending that court's review of the case.

Sept. 26, 2023: Engoron holds the defendants liable for fraud, saying their asset valuations reflected a "fantasy world," and finding "conclusive evidence" that Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion. The judge leaves damages and other claims for the trial. Engoron also sanctions Trump's lawyers for pressing legal arguments he had rejected.

Sept. 28, 2023: The Appellate Division lifts its temporary pause on a trial, clearing the way for it to begin.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel Wallis)

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