The judge overseeing the civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump has denied his request to postpone enforcing the $355 million judgment against him for a month.
Donald Trump Fails to Justify Request for Delay
According to NBC News, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron conveyed his decision to Donald Trump's attorney, Clifford S. Robert, in an email sent Thursday.
In the email, CNN reported that Engoron rejected the former president's request for an additional 30 days, writing, "You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay."
On Wednesday, Trump's legal team expressed their discontent with what they termed an "unseemly rush" to enforce the verdict by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who submitted a proposal for the judge to sign merely days after the ruling was issued.
"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 in his letter to the judge Wednesday.
In his biggest punishment to date, Engoron directed Trump to pay $355 million plus interest last week for fraudulently inflating the values of his properties.
The judge also barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of a corporation or other legal entities in New York, including in his firm, the Trump Organization, for three years after he found the former president liable for fraud, conspiracy, and issuing false financial statements and false business records.
Engoron also found his two adult sons liable for fraud. Once the judgment is officially entered, the 30-day period will begin for the former president to file an appeal.
Within that period, Trump had to put up cash or post bonds to cover the $355 million and around $100 million in interest he was ordered to pay the state of New York.
As of late Thursday, the court docket shows Engoron signed the judgment but had not been uploaded to the court website. It reportedly needs to be officially entered by a court clerk to take effect.
In a follow-up email to Engoron on Thursday, Robert said while a 30-day delay would not harm the New York attorney general's office, "the prejudice to the defendants is considerable."
However, Engoron proposed to Robert to make his case to the appeals court, saying "his confident that the Appellate Division will protect your appellate rights."
Donald Trump Asks to Dismiss His Classified Documents Indictment
On Thursday, Donald Trump also urged a federal judge in Florida to junk his classified documents case on the basis of presidential immunity.
Citing court documents filed in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News reported that Trump's attorneys argued that the former president's alleged decision to designate records as personal under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and to cause them to be transported from the White House to Mar-a-Lago "was an official act" since Trump made this decision while he was still in office.
"President Trump is entitled to immunity for this official act and that must include immunity from criminal prosecution," they added.
The lawyers filed three other motions on Thursday night to dismiss the charges against Trump due to the alleged lack of legitimacy and the unconstitutionality of special counsel appointments. They are expected to make some more filings seeking to junk the classified documents case against Trump.
The lawyers previously argued that prosecutors carried out a "politically motivated and biased" investigation into his handling of classified documents to tarnish his 2024 presidential bid.
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