Another setback was handed to Donald Trump last night, as the New York appeals court rejected his plea for a postponement on the upcoming civil fraud trial instigated by Attorney General Letitia James’ office. Roughly a week ago, Trump implored the First Judicial Department to persuade trial judge, Justice Arthur Engoron, to make a decision regarding whether the Attorney General’s allegations were outside the statute of limitations. At the crux of Trump’s argument was the claim that the primary evidence should be the timing of the loan and that all subsequent annual financial statements are intrinsically linked to the original loan document, importantly placing them outside the limitation period. However, at the time of his request, Justice Engoron had yet to judge on this matter and Trump, therefore, argued the necessity of a delay in this week’s trial until a decision was made on the crucial issue.
Justice Engoron put a halt to any further delays Tuesday by delivering an order that gave partial summary judgment to the prosecutors and affirmed that Trump, his family, and his company had repeatedly engaged in fraudulent conduct. This order also addressed the statute of limitations issue. Irrespective of whether Trump could be charged with illegally obtaining loans before July 13, 2014, the court has now determined that he can be charged with providing fraudulent documents to those lenders from that date onward. The court has further declared that Trump did indeed commit such a violation. This judgement renders Trump’s request that the appellate court delay next week’s trial unnecessary.
To cope with this latest judgement, Trump turned to an article from the NY Post. In it, Steve Cuozzo, a real estate columnist and restaurant critic, highlights two out of Justice Engoron’s 20-year tenure on the bench where his real estate zoning decisions were overturned. Cuozzo takes these reversals as evidence that Engoron is “plain nuts” in cases involving real estate. Even though Cuozzo admits that “Trump historically has wildly overvalued his holdings is hardly a secret – his boasts were long a laughingstock among real-estate pros,” he concludes that the “Mar-a-Lago judge’s developer-hating past is a big win for Donald Trump.”
The trials to come may add more shade to Trump’s rather brimming legal basket. However, he seems to have chosen to face the situation with his trademark verve and poise.