OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
It is unlikely that the civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump in New York will be resolved before Election Day, according to a former assistant attorney general.
Trump has been granted a significant financial respite by a Manhattan appellate court, which allows him to post a $175 million bond as he contests a massive $454 million judgment.
The amount was determined by a state judge as a decade of bank fraud. The appellate judges have also given Trump a break by stating that he doesn’t need to “perfect” his appeal until the September court term, which starts on September 3.
This means that all the documentation must be in and prepared for oral arguments.
Kenneth Foard McCallion, a former New York assistant attorney general, said that it is almost impossible for Trump’s appeals to be completed by Election Day in light of this. By that time, the interest on Trump’s initial $454 million judgment will have increased to over $28.6 million. By the time voters head to the polls, the total judgment against Trump and his codefendants will have risen to nearly $494 million.
McCallion predicted that “it will be September or October for oral arguments.”
“We’re definitely looking at after the election” for their decision, said McCallion. “It’s really quite unprecedented,” he said of the timing.
McCallion also noted that Trump’s legal team has already suggested that they are willing to take their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We could be well into 2025” before New York Attorney General Letitia James sees any money, McCallion said.
“I do think the appellate division is shooting the attorney general in the foot by not taking this on an expedited basis and cutting him a break,” he said.
Legal expert Jonathan Turley is sounding off on AG James for her case against Trump.
During an interview on Fox News, host Sean Hannity and Turley spoke about a New York appeals court ruling to postpone the payment of Trump’s $454 million civil fraud penalty resulting from James’ lawsuit.
Instead, the former president was instructed to pay a $175 million bond, which Trump has paid.
Hannity began by saying: “I would say is, if we’re going to talk about phone evaluations, I have shown on this show empty lots, two acres on the ocean in Palm Beach, for sale for a whopping $200 million. Mar-a-Lago is 22 acres, it has the oceanside, it has the inner-coastal side, it has over 58 bedrooms, other properties or cottages on the facility, it’s got two clubs associated with it, it’s in great shape, it’s a historic property, it’s worth closer to a billion. A far more egregious evaluation error, if you will, then anything they even claim Trump did. How did that get to stand, Jonathan?”
