Donald Trump plans to attend his New York civil fraud trial next week, and on Friday blasted the case as he asked supporters to donate to his 2024 presidential campaign before a key deadline.
Two people briefed on Trump’s plans told NBC News that he will travel to New York on Sunday night, and that he intends to be in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday and Tuesday for the first two days of the bench trial of a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“After four sham arrests, indictments, and even a mugshot failed to break me, a Democrat judge is now trying to destroy my Family Business,” the former Republican president said in an email for his joint fundraising committee Friday.
“Democrats are seeking to bring down the world-famous ‘Trump Tower’ and impose what some are calling ‘the corporate death penalty’ upon me,” the email said.
In other recent fundraising pitches, Trump’s campaign said it wants to show strength in the face of his mounting legal strife by raising millions of dollars before the Federal Election Commission’s third-quarter deadline on Saturday.
The campaign raised $35 million in the prior quarter.
Trump’s latest donor appeal came days after Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization were liable for fraud for overstating the values of multiple real estate properties, including his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Engoron in the same order canceled the New York state business licenses of multiple Trump corporate entities and said he would appoint a receiver to manage their dissolution. Trump plans to appeal the ruling.
The trial due to start Monday will deal with the remaining six claims of James’ lawsuit.
James in the case is seeking $250 million in damages and an order barring Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from running a business in the state.
Trump is facing criminal indictments in New York and Georgia state courts, and in federal courts in Washington, D.C., and Florida. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases.
In two of those cases — in Georgia and Washington —Trump is charged with felonies related to his attempt to reverse his 2020 reelection loss to President Joe Biden.