New guidance from court officials suggests a verdict in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Donald Trump could come any time in the next few weeks.
“It’s looking like early to mid-February, as a rough estimate, and subject to modifications,” said Al Baker, a spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration.
Judge Arthur Engoron is poised to issue a written ruling on fraud claims against Trump and his co-defendants, which includes his adult sons and his company. The attorney general has said Trump and his company should pay $370 million in disgorgement for their ill-gotten gains.
Engoron said at closing arguments for the bench trial that he’d aim to file his ruling on the public docket by January 31, but warned the parties that wasn’t a firm deadline.
Last Friday, the court-appointed monitor overseeing Trump Organization business activities filed a report flagging errors and inconsistencies in financial disclosures that Trump’s company submitted to third parties. The monitor warned that the issues may continue if they go unaddressed.
“My observations suggest misstatements and errors may continue to occur, which could result in incorrect or inaccurate reporting of financial information to third parties,” Judge Barbara Jones wrote.
In a letter response filed Monday, Trump’s attorney said the monitor’s latest report contains factual inaccuracies and is “misleading and disingenuous.”
“The January 26 Report, issued mere days before an expected decision, has only two obvious purposes: (1) ensure the Monitor continues to receive exorbitant fees (in excess of $2.6 million to date); and (2) fill the gaping hole in the Attorney General’s case, namely, that there is no basis to support continued…
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