At the end of the 11-week civil fraud case against the former guy, Judge Arthur Engoron said he would be handing down his verdict stating how much the defendant would be required to pay, by the end of January.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million.
But when Judge Engoron discovered that a major witness may have lied during his testimony in his court, he asked the defendant's lawyers and the New York Attorney General to address the development by Wednesday.
The New York judge set to deliver a verdict in the civil business fraud trial of Donald Trump has ordered attorneys in the case to give him details about possible perjury by former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.
Judge Arthur Engoron, in an email to the attorneys made public Tuesday, said that if Weisselberg had lied in one aspect of his testimony, the judge might disregard anything Weisselberg has said on the witness stand or to investigators.
Engoron flagged a New York Times report last week that said Weisselberg is negotiating a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that would require him to plead guilty to perjury.That report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter, said that Weisselberg would have to admit that he lied during his testimony at Trump’s fraud trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The former guy’s lawyers and the NY Attorney General have responded, and they all agree, that they do not want Allen Weisselberg's possible lies to hold up the verdict in a civil fraud case.
New York AG and Trump lawyers tell judge they don’t want to wait for civil fraud verdict
Kara Scannell, CNNWed, February 7, 2024 at 6:31 PM PST·3 min readAttorneys representing the defendants in the case said it was “unprecedented, inappropriate and troubling” for the judge to inquire of the parties about Weisselberg’s plea talks and it should not be considered because it was not evidence put before the judge during the trial.
“The only evidence that the Court can consider in rendering its decision is that adduced during the trial,” wrote Cliff Robert, an attorney for the Trumps and Trump properties. “Consideration by the factfinder of matters outside the record, especially speculative news accounts, is simply improper and calls into question the impartiality of the Court,” he added.
Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James said a criminal investigation into perjury could go on indefinitely before it’s resolved, adding that Engoron could later amend his findings.
“At this time, we are not involved in any negotiations and are unaware of what specific trial testimony may be the subject of the plea negotiations or whether Mr. Weisselberg has conceded that he testified falsely,” wrote Kevin Wallace, an assistant attorney general.
“OAG does not, however, believe that this development should result in any delay of a final decision,” Wallace added. “The Court should hold them to account and impose necessary measures to prevent further fraud, including industry bars and the appointment of a monitor with robust oversight, as soon as possible. If additional sanctions are necessary to address any potential perjury, the Court can retain jurisdiction to address those issues.”
To summarize their respective arguments: The defendant's lawyers are saying it’s unfair to consider the accountant's lies before rendering a verdict. We demand that you only consider our client’s lies and those of his friends and family, of which you are already aware.
The prosecutors are saying, make Donnie pay today and you can always come back and make him pay some more another day. But let's focus on making him pay now without delay.