Former President Donald Trump‘s lawyers will be back in a New York courtroom today as they try to undo the civil fraud judgment that will cost him almost $500 million. A state appeals court is set to hear arguments at noon today without Trump in attendance.
New York Attorney General Letitia James brought this case against Trump, accusing him of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to help him with business dealings. Overvalued assets include his golf courses and Trump Tower’s penthouse.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in James’s favor in February, which is the decision that Trump’s lawyers will argue today is “egregious” and should be overturned, Supreme Court Reporter Kaelan Deese wrote. His lawyers have accused Engoron of bias and said there were no victims of the alleged overvaluation scheme.
Trump has posted a $175 million bond to prevent asset seizures while the case is under appeal, but if the judge rules in the state’s favor, Trump will owe the entire amount, including daily accrued interest.
Read what else Trump’s lawyers plan to argue in court today.
Democrats make Maryland Senate race about everyone other than Larry Hogan
Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks’s campaign has been strategizing about how to align former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a centrist “Never Trumper,” with other members of his party who are unpopular in Maryland. The campaign’s solution has been to focus on the threat of a Republican-controlled Senate rather than the threat of Hogan himself. To do that, it has invoked the names of well-known Republican leaders and staunch supporters of Trump, such as Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
“Regardless of his opinions from the back row, Hogan would put extremist Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham in charge of the U.S. Senate,” Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat, said in a recent statement.
In response, Cruz and Graham told Senate Reporter Ramsey Touchberry that Maryland Democrats should focus on their actual opponent.
“The last I checked, neither Lindsey nor I are running in Maryland,” Cruz told Ramsey. “It sounds like Maryland Democrats are really scared of Larry Hogan, so they’re trying to find someone else to attack instead.”
The Maryland Senate race is one of a few that could determine control of the upper chamber. Though Maryland is typically deep-blue territory, Hogan enjoyed widespread popularity while governor, leaving the office with a whopping 77% approval rating. This is the worst-case scenario for Democrats, who otherwise would’ve likely sailed to victory without putting up much of a fight.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was also thrown into the mix, with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) saying, “The people of Maryland are going to be electing a U.S. senator who’s either going to be voting to put the Democrats in control of the agenda, or they can be voting to put Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley.”
Hawley told Ramsey he was “very flattered they would think of me.”
Read more about Alsobrooks’s campaign strategy to secure the Maryland seat.
Preview of Walz’s debate style
Gov. Tim Walz‘s (D-MN) most recent political debate was a marked change from his previous appearances, leaning into his progressive ideals and further away from the centrism he espoused as a member of the House of Representatives. In next week’s vice presidential debate, he is likely to maintain his partisan approach while facing off against Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
“He has become solidly partisan in laying out his positions, becoming much more aggressive as a debater than he was before,” said David Schultz, a political professor at Hamline University in St. Paul. “Whether that debate [against Jensen] is where he has evolved to, being more of a pit bull, I don’t know. But certainly, the tone and substance has really shifted.”
In October 2022, Walz faced former Minnesota Republican state Sen. Scott Jensen in what turned out to be a dramatic sparring match. The two dueled over abortion, COVID-19 policies, electric vehicles, and taxes, White House Reporter Haisten Willis wrote. Many of these topics are sure to be brought up in Tuesday night’s event.
Walz tagged Jensen for what he called “flip-flopping” on abortion, a tactic he is sure to use with Vance as well. Vance had supported a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions but backtracked from that stance more recently, aligning his stance with Trump’s, who favors the issue being left to the states.
Where Walz will likely have to go on the defense, as he did in 2022, is on COVID-19 lockdown protocols. Walz initiated a tip line for people to report their neighbors for violating the rules, a policy that was iffy in 2020 and definitely looks bad in retrospect.
Walz will have to defend his record during the George Floyd protests in 2020 as well, which is a matter Vance has repeatedly mentioned in the press as an example of flawed leadership skills. To win the debate, Schultz said Walz will have to minimize how much he has to defend his own record.
“A clear win for Walz is if he says nothing wrong and he has Vance on defense the whole time,” Schultz said. “Mostly about abortion.”
Click here to read more pre-debate analysis.
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To know today
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will have lunch at noon. Harris will deliver remarks to the press alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 3 p.m. before Biden and Harris speak jointly on gun violence at 4:45 p.m.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief at 12:30 p.m. regarding Hurricane Helene.
Vance will be campaigning in Georgia.
