Trump loses bid to delay New York civil fraud trial

A New York appeals court has rejected former President Donald Trump's bid to delay a civil fraud trial against him in a case that leaves his business empire in jeopardy.

The decision paves the way for a trial to begin next Monday.

Mr Trump and three of his adult children are expected to be called as witnesses in the case.

The decision comes after New York Judge Arthur Engoron this week ruled Mr Trump was liable for business fraud.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump, his two adult sons and the Trump Organization of inflating the value of their properties by more than $2bn (£1.65bn) to suit the needs of their business.

In his ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Engoron agreed, finding Mr Trump had misrepresented his wealth by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr Trump's legal team had sought to delay the case while his attorneys challenged earlier rulings in the case.

Mr Trump and the other defendants in the case have argued that they never committed fraud.

But Thursday's appeals court ruling means a trial in the case will go ahead as scheduled on Monday 2 October.

The case is a bench trial, meaning it will be decided not by a jury but by Judge Engoron, who is presiding over the trial. He has said it could take as long as three months to hear the case.

Judge Engoron's Tuesday ruling resolved the key claim of fraud in Ms James' lawsuit, leaving the trial to focus on a more narrow set of six remaining fraud claims and on determining penalties against Mr Trump.

Ms James is seeking a fine of $250m and a ban on Mr Trump doing business in his home state.

Earlier on Thursday, Ms James' office released a list of dozens of possible witnesses for the trial, including Mr Trump himself, his sons Eric and Don Jr and daughter Ivanka.