Trump claims he’ll attend New York business fraud trial, pushing back Florida deposition

Former President Donald Trump plans to attend his New York business fraud trial in person next week, he revealed in an unrelated court filing Friday, requesting a deposition in another case be rescheduled.

Trump’s deposition in his civil lawsuit against former attorney Michael Cohen was scheduled for Tuesday, the day after the New York business fraud trial begins. In light of the overlap and Trump’s intent to attend the beginning of the New York trial, the Miami judge granted Trump’s request and rescheduled the Florida deposition for October 9.

Trump’s civil suit against Cohen alleges that the former attorney broke his duty of confidentiality with the former president and broke other contracts by disparaging him in the media.

“Plaintiff represented that, now that pretrial rulings have been entered in the case that materially altered the landscape, it was imperative that he attend his New York trial in person — at least for each day of the first week of trial when many strategy judgments had to be made,” Judge Edwin Torres wrote in his decision.

The business fraud case found that Trump and his sons intentionally misled banks and insurance companies by inflating and deflating the value of their assets by at least $2.2 billion. A judge ruled last week that Trump and his company committed fraud, with the trial next week to determine damages.

Cohen is also a potential witness in the New York trial.

New York prosecutors are seeking at least a $250 million penalty in addition to preventing Trump and his sons from running businesses in New York. 

If the case survives an expected appeal, the Trump Organization and the former president’s other New York-based businesses would be dissolved and liquidated, and it could force the sale of some property in the state.