What Trump’s Indictments, Lawsuits Mean for His 2024 Presidential Run

Former President Donald Trump’s latest run for the White House is being complicated by a legal onslaught, the latest blow being a ruling by a New York State Supreme Court judge that he was liable for fraud for exaggerating his net worth by billions of dollars a year on financial records. Earlier, he was charged in four separate cases with trying to undo his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, working to overturn the overall election result, mishandling classified documents and falsifying business records. A jury found him liable for sexually abusing a woman decades ago, and he’s facing other civil lawsuits. In addition, his family business was found guilty of engaging in tax fraud.

In what is perhaps the biggest threat to the former president’s wealth, as well as his image as a successful businessman, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil suit against Trump and his two adult sons in September, 2022. She accused them and their real estate company of fraudulently manipulating the value of assets for years to deceive banks and insurers. James is seeking the return of $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten gains and a permanent ban on the family members from doing business in New York. In a pre-trial ruling Sept. 26 that resolved the state’s biggest claim against the ex-President and narrowed the scope of the trial, Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump had committed fraud by inflating the value of many of his assets. The judge authorized James to cancel certificates for companies that hold those assets.