The verdict in the civil fraud trial against President Trump has been delayed until early to mid-February, according to a New York court spokesperson.
The non-jury Soviet-style show trial played out in court for 11 weeks. Far-left Judge Arthur Engoron previously said he would deliver a verdict by January 31.
The early to mid-February date is a “rough estimate” and the decision will be a “written filing,” The Guardian reported.
It is unclear why there is a delay, however, legal watchers have speculated that it may be because of a last-minute letter from a former federal judge.
Former federal judge Barbara Jones, a Clinton appointee, sent a January 26 letter claiming she identified “certain deficiencies” about a $48 million loan Trump received in 2012 related to his building in Chicago.
The Guardian reported:
Though the court did not specify why Engoron is taking extra time on his verdict, reports have suggested a letter from the former federal judge Barbara Jones, sent on 26 January, is likely a factor in the delay.
Jones has been serving as the court-appointed monitor overseeing the Trump Organization’s financial reports since November 2022.
In her letter, Jones told Engoron that she identified “certain deficiencies in the financial information that I have reviewed, including disclosures that are either incomplete, present results inconsistently, and/or contain errors”.
Included in Jones’s letter were her concerns about a $48m loan Trump received in 2012 by an entity affiliated with his building in Chicago. Trump reported the loan, which has no formal loan agreement, on his financial statement as a liability for multiple years. But in conversations with the Trump Organization, the company determined that “this loan never existed”.
Jones had warned that while she is “not in a position to conclude whether fraudulent activity occurred”, she noted that “absent steps to address [the deficiencies], my observations suggest misstatements and errors may continue to occur”.
Judge Engoron had already ruled that Trump engaged in fraud and ordered the dissolution of Trump’s New York businesses. The New York appellate court stayed Engoron’s order.
Recall that radical Marxist New York Attorney General Letitia James sought $370 million in ‘damages’ when there is no victim in this fraud case and she is also seeking to ban Trump and his sons from operating any businesses in New York. She accused Trump of inflating his assets and defrauding lenders and insurance companies.
James originally sought $250 million in damages from Trump.
In addition to increasing the amount of ‘damages’ she wanted Trump to pay, Letitia James sought a lifetime ban for him from the real estate industry.
In November a Deutsche Bank executive who worked to approve at least one of Trump’s loans testified that it is “atypical, but not entirely unusual” to reduce a client’s asset values and still approve a loan.
This type of lending is typical in high net-worth, high-profile clients like Donald Trump. Anyone with basic knowledge of banking, lending, portfolio and credit risk management knows this.
Trump called the prosecution “election interference at the highest level.”
President Trump wasn’t supposed to deliver a closing statement in his own defense after Judge Engoron rescinded permission in early January.
However, Trump took over the courtroom and unloaded on Judge Engoron and Letitia James a couple of weeks ago.
Trump told Engoron that he was the victim of fraud before accusing the judge of “having his own agenda.”
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