Court finds Trump committed fraud in New York civil case

The news: A New York court has found former US president Donald Trump committed fraud by illegally inflating his assets and net worth, in a civil lawsuit.

The numbers: The lawsuit, filed by New York state Attorney General Letitia James in Sept 2022, accuses Trump, his adult children and the Trump Organization of inflating his net worth by as much as USD2.2 billion ($3.4 billion) in order to get better terms on bank loans and insurance. She is seeking a penalty of about USD250 million in a trial scheduled to begin next week.

The context: The ruling by the New York judge is a near total defeat for Trump, and effectively limits the scope of the 2 October trial to how much Trump should pay in damages. Trump has separately pleaded not guilty to charges in four indictments accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 US election, hoarding classified materials, and covering up hush money payments to a porn star. He also faces a January civil trial over damages he owes for defaming a writer who claimed he raped her. Despite facing the slew of litigation, Trump holds a commanding lead in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.