A court in New York has set a date for October 2, 2023, 13 months before the 2024 presidential election, for the civil trial of Donald Trump and his three children accused of tax fraud in the Trump Organization, reports AFP.

In the case, New York State Attorney General Letitia James accuses the Republican billionaire and his children of “deliberately” manipulating the valuation of the group’s assets, including golf clubs, luxury hotels and other real estate, to get better loans from banks or reduce their fees.

He is seeking $250 million in damages on behalf of the state, as well as a ban on the former president and his relatives from running the companies.

The lawsuit also targets three of the former president’s children: Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Tuesday set a trial calendar that will run from December 2022 to October 2, 2023, when the trial is scheduled to begin.

Donald Trump, who last week officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, is involved in several lawsuits but has not yet been charged.

Three days after announcing his candidacy, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith to take over two ongoing U.S. judicial investigations: one into Donald Trump’s attempts to change the results of the 2020 presidential election, the other into the management of White House archives. home

Fiscal declarations

That special prosecutor will be responsible for deciding whether to indict Donald Trump in one of those two cases, but the decision will be up to the minister.

The former president (2017-2021) emerged weakened from November’s midterm elections after worse-than-expected Republican results and more defeats for candidates he supported, while one of his potential primary party rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, triumphed again. elect.

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court also allowed the release of the former president’s tax returns, rejecting Donald Trump’s latest appeal.

The House committee, which until January was in the hands of Democrats, spent three years requesting documents that the billionaire sent to the IRS between 2015 and 2020.

But unlike every president since the 1970s, Donald Trump has always refused to release his tax returns and has fought fiercely in court to block Congressional requests.

Donald Trump’s lack of transparency, which made his wealth a campaign issue, has fueled years of speculation about the extent of his wealth or potential conflicts of interest.

However, it is not certain that the transfer of his tax files to Congress will lift the curtain on the affairs of the septuagenarian.

The commission, which requested these tax returns to develop presidential ethics rules, should not release them. In January, Republicans will regain control of the House of Representatives and will likely abandon this activity.