A New York judge announced that the fraud case against Donald Trump’s defunct real estate “university” will move forward, despite the Republican front-runner’s attempts to get the charges against him thrown out.
Fox News reported that New York County Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern decided the case would go to trial at a hearing on Tuesday.
Although any trial will be months away, there is now the possibility that Trump may have to testify during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Lawyers for Trump and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are still battling over whether Trump is entitled to a jury trial in the $40 million lawsuit.
“Why would the attorney general who represents constituents of the state of New York fear the constituents of the state of New York determining if he’s right? They don’t want to go to trial,” Trump’s lawyer Jeffrey Goldman told the New York Daily News.
A statement from Schneiderman applauded the court’s decision and the intention “to move expeditiously as possible to trial, as thousands of Mr. Trump’s alleged victims have been waiting years for relief from his fraud.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the controversy, while Schneiderman’s lawsuit seeks restitution and damages for more than 5,000 students who each paid up to $35,000 to attend Trump University.
