Judge Engoron Delays Verdict in Trump’s New York Fraud Trial

(PatriotWise.com) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York last week announced that his decision in the case would be delayed, Reuters reported.

In scheduling closing arguments for January 11, Judge Arthur Engoron said in December that he hoped to deliver his verdict in the case by the end of January.

However, in a statement last Thursday, a spokesperson for the court said the verdict would not be released until mid-February at the latest.

In the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump and his company are accused of defrauding financial institutions and insurance companies by inflating his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion a year for more than a decade.

In addition to $370 million in penalties, the attorney general is also seeking to ban Trump and his company from the real estate business in New York.

Judge Engoron’s decision comes as a federal judge in Washington delayed the March 4 start of the trial in Trump’s election interference case.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan last Friday vacated the trial date initially set in August, saying in a brief order that the trial’s schedule would depend on the outcome of an appellate court ruling on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.

Judge Chutkan’s delay was expected, as the US District Court for the District of Columbia had already removed the trial from its public calendar earlier in the week.

After Chutkan rejected the defense’s claim of presidential immunity in early December, the defense appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Chutkan paused all proceedings pending the appellate court’s decision.

A 3-judge panel of the appellate court heard oral arguments in the case in early January. No decision has been released as yet.

Judge Chutkan’s delay clears the path for Trump’s trial on state charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in which Trump faces 34 felony counts related to alleged hush money payments. The trial is scheduled for late March.