A New York judge denied former President Donald Trump’s effort to delay enforcement of a $354 million judgment on Thursday.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron announced in an email Thursday he would sign the judgement proposed by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York, less than 24 hours after Trump’s attorneys requested a delay. Trump attorney Clifford S. Robert requested a 30-day delay in enforcing the judgment in a letter to Engoron Wednesday.
“You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay,” Engoron wrote in a terse, two-sentence email to Robert. “I am confident that the Appellate Division will protect your appellate rights.”
Engoron ruled Friday that Trump was to pay $354 million and banned him from being an officer or director for any company or organization based in New York for three years following a civil trial. He previously ruled that Trump was liable for fraud on Sept. 26, ordering that several business licenses Trump held were to be revoked and that his businesses were to be shut down, but an appeals court stayed Engoron’s ruling on Oct. 6.
James sued Trump in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings in order to obtain loans after promising to investigate Trump during her 2018 campaign for attorney general, during which she labeled him an “illegitimate president.” James said that if Trump did not pay the $354 million fine within 30 days, she would consider seizing his assets, ABC News reported.
Legal experts decried the ruling, which George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has called “confiscatory,” noting that Trump could lose a lot of money even with a successful appeal.
“By making this judgment so large, the judge makes it difficult to appeal his decision,” Turley told “The Story” host Martha MacCallum during a Tuesday Fox News appearance.
Trump and attorney Alina Habba did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Harold Hutchison on February 22, 2024
