Trump’s attorneys had filed a last-minute lawsuit against the presiding judge, claiming that he had “misused” his authority.
A New York appeals court has tentatively delayed an impending fraud trial against former President Donald Trump.
According to CBS News, the court on Thursday ordered the potential postponement of the expected non-jury trial shortly after Trump attorneys accused the presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, of abusing his authority.
Justice David Friedman, a judge on New York’s intermediate appellate court, has since granted an interim stay of the trial. Friedman also directed the appeals court to consider assessing the lawsuit on an expedited basis.
The court signaled that it would most likely issue a decision on the week of September 25th.
Depending on the court’s schedule, this could cause the trial to be pushed back.
CBS News notes that Trump’s legal team filed the “last-minute” legal challenge earlier this week. While the details of the complaint have not been made public, it lists defendants including New York Attorney General Letitia James and presiding appellate Judge Arthur Engoron.
In their lawsuit, attorneys say that Engoron neglected an earlier appeals decision that Trump’s team says should have dismissed some counts against the former president.
However, Engoron was still expected to rule on these issues, which concern whether some of the allegedly fraudulent statements Trump made occurred outside of the applicable statutes of limitations.
Trump’s team also criticized the judge’s refusal to grant a request for a three-week delay for trial commencement, calling Engoron decision’s “completely without merit.”
In the meantime, New York officials have insisted that they are prepared for trial, whenever it may begin.
“We are confident in our case and will be ready for trial,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
As LegalReader.com has reported before, James’s lawsuit accuses Trump of defrauding banks, insurers, and other entities.
The former president purportedly used “inflated’ financial statements that grossly exaggerated the value of his real properties and other assets, potentially boosting his net worth by more than $3.6 billion.
James seeks an estimated $250 million in penalties, as well as a court order prohibiting Trump from continuing to conduct business in the Empire State.
Trump, for his part, said that he never expected that his financial documents would be “taken seriously,” since they purportedly included a disclaimer saying that they might not be accurate.
“You don’t have a case, and you should drop this case,” Trump told James.
“Do you know the banks were fully paid? Do you know the banks made a lot of money?” Trump asked in a hearing. “Do you know I don’t’ believe I ever got a default notice, and even during COVID, the banks were all paid? And yet you’re suing on behalf of banks, I guess.”
“It’s crazy,” Trump said. “The whole case is crazy.”
Engoron, though, is expected to rule on only two issues: whether Trump’s financial statements were false or misleading, and whether he used those statements to conduct business transactions.
Sources
Judge temporarily halts trial in New York’s fraud lawsuit against Trump
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