Judge pauses NY AG James's fraud suit against the Trump Organization

A New York appeals court justice on Friday issued a temporary stay in New York Attorney General Letitia James's fraud suit against the Trump Organization amid claims from the defense that both James and the trial judge defied a court order potentially narrowing the suit.

Appeals court Justice David Friedman imposed the stay and sent the dispute to a panel of five judges that will likely rule on the matter by the end of the month, Reuters reported. Justice Arthur Engoron is the trial judge in the case, which is slated for Oct. 2.

James has contended that Trump overstated his net worth by up to $2.225 billion as part of a broader fraud suit against the organization. She is seeking $250 million in damages and an order barring Trump and his sons from holding leadership roles in New York-based companies.

Trump insists that James is a biased prosecutor and that her case is part of a broader political witch hunt intended to derail his 2024 White House bid. He recently debuted an ad that named her a member of the "fraud squad," an Avengers-esque group of Democratic and federal prosecutors pursuing allegedly corrupt cases against him and his interests.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.