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A Manhattan judge said Thursday that she was supportive of President Trump's claims, but that she would not decide whether a lawsuit would be filed until a superior court decided if a chairman in office can be sued. court.
In June, the New York Attorney General's office sued Trump, accusing him of using the Donald J. Trump Foundation to continue his 2016 campaign, pay legal regulations and promote his businesses. The lawsuit, which appoints Mr. Trump, his three older children, and the charity itself, is seeking redress, dissolving the foundation, and barring Trump from serving on charitable boards in the province. State for 10 years.
Mr. Trump called the lawsuit "ridiculous" and said he would not settle the case.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump's lawyers asked Judge Saliann Scarpulla to dismiss the case. The judge said she would wait for the first department of the Appellate Division, an intermediate appeals court, to look into a different case to find out if a president-in-office could be sued in a state court.
The decision is expected to be the subject of a defamation suit brought by Summer Zervos, a former competitor of "The Apprentice" who accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances. Mr. Trump stated that the prosecution had no merit and denied the charges of sexual misconduct.
"We will see what happens in the first department," said Justice Scarpulla at the state Supreme Court in Manhattan. "I have the intention to follow the first department. If the first department declares that Clinton c. Jones is still a good law, I think the case will continue. "
Clinton v. Jones is a Supreme Court decision that says a president can be sued in federal court for driving outside of his official responsibilities. Justice Scarpulla stated that if the Court of Appeal found that a sitting president could not be sued in court, she could ask the Attorney General's office to defend herself again, but only against the foundation and the children of Mr. Trump, who sit on his board of directors.
At the hearing on Thursday, many arguments were raised during a fundraising event organized in 2016 by Mr. Trump in Iowa. In a document submitted to the Attorney General's Charities Office, the Foundation said it was organizing a fundraiser to raise funds for charities for veterans. The Attorney General's office stated that the fundraising was planned, organized and directed by Mr. Trump's campaign and that more than $ 2.8 million donated to the foundation was an in-kind contribution to the campaign.
Mr. Trump's lawyers argued that since all the money raised at the foundation was donated to charity, the campaign had no tangible benefit. "Every penny, every penny went there, to these charities," said Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the foundation, pointing to icons representing organizations on a big screen in the audience room.
"During this fundraiser, [Mr. Trump] to talk about his campaign? Scarpulla J. asked in front of the crowded audience hall, where members of the public perched in the window sills.
"Yes," answered Mr. Futerfas.
"So it was not a fundraiser," said the judge. "It was a fundraiser and a political event."
Write to Corinne Ramey at [email protected]
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