Former President Donald Trump managed to score a huge win against Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron in his New York civil trial last week that left him and his family smiling.
CNN reported that a New York appeals court judge halted the breaking up of Trump’s corporations, though the appeals judge did not stop the civil trial from proceeding.
“We are very pleased the First Department upheld New York law and put a halt to any cancellation of business certificates, receivers or dissolution,” Trump attorney Christopher Kise said. “The trial court’s attempt to reach issues, entities, and assets beyond the scope of this case has been suspended.”
CNN reported:
Engoron had ordered Trump to propose potential receivers by October 26, which would begin the process of dissolution.
During the hearing, Moulton speculated that such a broad interpretation of Engoron’s ruling could mean LLCs holding the private homes of Trump and the other defendants could be at risk of being sold.
“[Engoron] clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” Trump’s lawyers argued in a court filing earlier in the session.
“We’re not seeking delay. We’re not seeking anything but a fair trial and these errors permeate the ongoing trial,” Kise told the court, referring to “an avalanche of errors” in the summary judgment ruling.
Eric Trump, the son of the former president, responded to the decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“We thank the Appellate Division for staying the NY Attorney General’s and Judge Engoron’s overzealous attempt to cancel our New York business certificates. Judge Engoron’s order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000 hard-working New Yorkers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing and, were never given their day in court – in clear violation of their fundamental Constitutional rights and Due Process. We will continue to vigorously defend our company and our incredible employees from this politically-motivated persecution,” he said.
Engoron has been extremely tough on Trump and his legal team, including a threat on Friday to jail the former president for failing to take down a post on his campaign website that attacked court staff. Engoron issued a gag order after Trump shared a post criticizing the judge’s chief law clerk, Allison Greenfield, on social media.
Alina Habba, one of the lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in a civil business fraud lawsuit, said that Trump plans to be “in and out as he sees fit” during the trial in New York City.
Trump has been pulled off the campaign trail to defend his family’s business.
“It’s very important to him,” Habba said on Newsmax. “His entire life was not the presidency. The Trump Organization was Donald Trump, so this is important to him, and I think it sends a good message to New Yorkers and the world that, at the end of the day, he’s a human being. He’s an American. He has a business. He’s trying to make money.”
She added that Trump wants the business he started to thrive, and it has, and that he’s “worth billions more than what’s on his statement of financial condition.”
Habba did not comment on Engoron’s order but did speak about New York’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of “ignoring the streets of New York and is doing this, in my opinion, for political gain. [She] campaigned in 2018 on getting Donald Trump, and we’ve got the campaign video to prove it.”
At the month’s end, Trump will give testimony. According to Habba, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. may also testify.
“They have nothing to hide,” Habba commented. “There wasn’t an injured party. Everybody made money. The loans were paid back. Ultimately, we have a statute of limitations for a reason. This judge is allowing things that have expired, dating back to as long as 2011. What’s the strategy there?”
She added that she would not comment on the defense’s privileged conversations, “but if you look at the decision from June, the appellate division was pretty clear on the statute of limitations … it’s our position that that’s being disregarded at this point, so we just keep objecting.”
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