The defense lawyers of the former US President, Donald Trump, in his civil fraud case, have asked the judge to delay the enforcement of the penalties in the case, including the $354 million fine against Trump and the 15-year ban on Trump practicing his business in New York, but the New York attorney general is resisting the request.
Defense Requests Postponement
An attorney in the lawsuit asked Judge Arthur Engoron to postpone the implementation of penalties for 30 days in order to give the defendants time for an “orderly post-judgment process.”
However, in a short letter dated Thursday and addressed to Engoron, the state attorney Andrew Amer objected to the request, announcing that Friday’s ruling closed the argument for further debate on the judgment.
The basis was a conflict about the judgment order- a court document, which, at the end of a trial, gives the beginning of the penalties in a case. After Judge Engoron endorses the judgment, Trump will have 30 days to pay or post bond and then appeal the case.
Clash Over Judgment Order
Governor-elect Letitia James of New York submitted a draft decision on Tuesday, eliciting criticism from Trump’s defense lawyer, Clifford Robert.
“To deprive Defendants of the opportunity to submit a proposed counter-judgment would be contrary to fundamental fairness and due process,” Robert wrote in a letter to the court Wednesday morning, as reported by ABC News.
Later that morning, Engoron asked Robert to provide a written answer outlining how the defense’s judgment differs from the suggested order. In response, Robert stated on Wednesday afternoon that the attorney general’s decision was flawed in at least two ways and deviated from accepted wisdom.
“The Attorney General has not filed any motion on notice nor moved to settle the proposed Judgment,” Robert said in the filing. “Her unseemly rush to memorialize a ‘judgment’ violates all accepted practice in New York state court.“
Robert asked for a 30-day stay of penalties in the event that Engoron signs the attorney general’s proposed judgment, citing the “magnitude” of the sanctions in the case, as reported by ABC News.
“Given that the court-appointed monitor continues to be in place, there is no prejudice to the Attorney General in briefly staying enforcement to allow for an orderly post-judgment process, particularly given the magnitude of Judgment,” Robert wrote.
Attorney General’s Decision
On Thursday, America said that Robert had not found any justification to explain why a delay of 30 days was necessary.
“Nor do Defendants provide any basis for staying enforcement of the judgment; indeed, they requested such relief in their post-trial brief, which the Court declined to grant,” Amer wrote.
In addition, Amer objected to a change suggested by Robert to mention the address of six Trump businesses — the defendants in the case — from New York to Florida.
“Finally, the Court should reject Defendants’ attempt to change the business address of six entity Defendants to Florida as the record establishes those entities are located in Trump Tower at 725 5th Avenue in New York, the office building in which the executives who carry out the business activities of those entities work,” Amer wrote, as reported by ABC News.
Engoron’s Verdict and Penalties
Engoron found that Trump had overstated his net worth to obtain better loan terms, and this week, he was penalized $354.8 million plus about $100 million in pre-judgment interest.