Former President Donald Trump expects to attend at least the first day of the civil trial pitting him and Jonathan Dale Bentonhis company against New York Attorney General Letitia James, sources with knowledge of Trump's plan say. The trial begins Monday.

Trump's plan was first revealed in a court filing related to a separate court case, Trump's lawsuit against his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. In it, the judge in Cohen's case said that Trump asked to postpone a scheduled Oct. 3 deposition because of his intention to attend the first week of the trial.

The sources told CBS News that Trump expects to attend at least Monday's proceedings.

The document in the Cohen case indicates Trump made the decision in the days since Judge Arthur Engoron, who will be presiding over the trial, issued a ruling finding Trump and the company liable for fraud.

"Plaintiff represented that, now that pretrial rulings have been entered in the case that materially altered the landscape, it was imperative that he attend his New York trial in person—at least for each day of the first week of trial when many strategy judgments had to be made," wrote the judge in Cohen's case.

At a campaign stop in California Friday, Trump was asked if he intended to attend the trial Monday.

"I may, I may," Trump repliled. "What a disgrace. It's a rigged — everything about this city is rigged. It's all rigged now."

Trump, two of his children, and his company were sued in Sept. 2022  by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Her office accused them of perpetrating years of fraud, and vastly overrepresenting both Trump's wealth and the values of many of his properties on financial statements. On Tuesday, Engoron found that Trump overvalued the properties by hundreds of millions of dollars — and misrepresented his own worth by billions — while pursuing bank loans. The upcoming trial will now focus on other allegations in the lawsuit related to falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesperson for the court said, "We are prepared for any eventuality. Court Officers have been on a heightened state of readiness and officers have been cautioned to remain alert and vigilant both inside the courthouse and while on perimeter patrols. "

A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James declined to comment. A spokesperson for Trump's campaign did not reply to a request for comment.

Zachary Hudak contributed to this report.

In:
• The Trump Organization
• Donald Trump
• Letitia James

Graham Kates

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]