“I do not want to ignore anything in a case of this magnitude.” Judge Engoron Considers Severe Penalty for Trump in Civil Fraud Trial
(msnbc)
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is currently overseeing the civil fraud trial involving former President Donald Trump in New York, appears to be contemplating a more severe penalty than many anticipated as he gets ready to deliver his final decision in the trial.
This development follows recent reports by The Daily Beast, which highlighted Engoron’s concern regarding an article published by the New York Times. The article in question detailed the intentions of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, to enter a guilty plea for perjury, admitting to falsehoods while testifying.
In a communication sent out on Monday, Judge Engoron expressed his keen interest in understanding whether Weisselberg is revising his previous statements and confessing to having provided false testimony during the trial. Engoron, who holds the responsibility of judging the facts and determining the credibility of witnesses, stressed the importance of not overlooking any detail in such a significant case.
Engoron also mentioned the possibility of leveraging Weisselberg’s alleged perjury as grounds to apply the principle of “falsus in uno,” a Latin phrase that translates to “false in one thing, false in everything.” This principle could lead the judge to question the entirety of Weisselberg’s testimony and consider it unreliable, which might significantly influence the trial’s outcome, Engoron wrote in an email on Monday. “I do not want to ignore anything in a case of this magnitude.”
The case, brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James, involves accusations against Trump for purportedly overvaluing his real estate holdings to secure more favorable tax and insurance terms. James is pushing for penalties that could amount to $370 million, in addition to proposing a prohibition that would prevent Trump and his adult children from holding executive positions in any New York-registered corporation for a minimum duration of five years.
Given Engoron’s prior ruling, which found Trump guilty of extensive fraudulent activities in his financial declarations to the state—a decision that was upheld by an appellate court in New York—a substantial penalty seems inevitable. This ruling could represent a significant financial setback for Trump, especially considering the $88.3 million in damages he was ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll in a separate defamation lawsuit.
Should Trump face the requirement to deposit a large portion of any civil judgment into a court-held account to pursue an appeal in New York, the financial implications could be profound. This requirement could potentially deplete nearly half a billion dollars from Trump’s resources as he seeks funding for his political campaign.
In response to the unfolding situation, Judge Engoron has directed the legal teams of both Trump and James to submit their responses to his inquiries by the deadline set for Wednesday at 5 p.m.
