shittypants has already lost this case as it's only to set penalties and to codify whether he has to cancel business licenses in NY as well. I just wonder how many times he can appeal this shit.
Trump on trial: What to expect in 2024 from the former president's legal cases
"Trump can’t speak during closing arguments in NY civil fraud trial, judge says "Mar-a-Lago: The billion-dollar question at heart of Trump fraud trial"
Trump, who is leading the Republican presidential primary polls, faces the prospect of up to five trials during the busy campaign year.
The past year saw Donald Trump on trial twice, indicted four times and hit with a multimillion-dollar civil verdict while also fighting off other legal challenges and running for president; his 2024 court calendar could be even more chaotic.
The former president faces up to five separate trials in the new year and verdicts in two civil cases that could cost him and his business hundreds of millions of dollars. In the four criminal cases, he faces 91 felony counts, including some on charges that carry maximum prison terms of 20 years.
Only one of the impending trial dates appears to be set in stone: that of the civil damages trial in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, which is scheduled to start Jan. 16. That's one day after the Iowa caucuses, in which Trump is leading in the polls and has predicted an "epic landslide" victory.
The trial dates for the four pending criminal cases are all in flux thanks to Trump appeals and efforts to delay them until after the election, but it's possible he could stand trial as early as March in either the federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., or the Manhattan district attorney's case in New York alleging falsified business records.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and has denied wrongdoing in the civil cases. He maintains all the cases are "election interference" and has sought to delay the criminal cases until after the 2024 elections.
Here's a look at the statuses of the biggest pending cases.
E. Jean Carroll defamation trial
The trial will be the second involving Trump and Carroll, a magazine writer who accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s and then of defaming her after she went public with her story in 2019. Trump has denied the account. A jury this year found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, a verdict Trump is appealing.
The new trial, scheduled to begin Jan. 16, focuses on comments Trump made about Carroll while he was president and then after the $5 million verdict, when he continued to trash her publicly, including calling her a "whack job." The trial will be for damages only because of the jury's findings in the other case, and it's expected to last three to five days.
Carroll is seeking more money than she did in the other trial, arguing that the impact of the defamation was worse because Trump was president when he called her account phony and "a disgrace" and claimed he'd never even met her. An expert who put the cost of repairing the damage to Carroll's reputation at $2.1 million in the earlier trial estimates the cost to be $7 million in the pending case, and Carroll is seeking an unspecified amount in punitive damages, as well.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the case, has denied several Trump attempts to delay the trial, and last week Trump turned to the federal appeals court in his latest bid to postpone the proceedings. In a court filing on Dec. 21, Trump's attorneys asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt the proceedings for 90 days while they weigh how they want to further appeal a ruling that denied Trump's bid to use presidential immunity as a defense.
The appeals court rejected the request on Thursday.
New York civil fraud case
Testimony ended this month in the case in which New York Attorney General Letitia James has contended Trump used fraud to inflate his net worth to snare more favorable loan and insurance rates. Both sides are scheduled to submit filings on Jan. 5. They'll then present closing arguments on Jan. 11, and state Judge Arthur Engoron has said he expects to issue a written decision with his findings in the weeks that follow.
The stakes for Trump are enormous: The AG is seeking a penalty of up to $250 million and the dissolution of his New York business licenses. Engoron has already found that Trump and executives at the Trump Organization engaged in persistent fraud, and he ordered the dissolution of their New York business licenses. At trial, Trump and his witnesses contended that his financial statements weren't inflated and that such valuations are subjective and that the judge should therefore rule in their favor. In a ruling on Dec. 18, Engoron said he wasn't swayed by their arguments.
Trump is appealing Engoron's pretrial ruling and is likely to appeal whatever the trial verdict is.
Appeal of Colorado Supreme Court ruling
In a bombshell ruling this month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is barred from the state's primary ballot on constitutional grounds. The case is one of over a dozen so far that seek to remove Trump from ballots based on language in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment that disqualifies people who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office.
The court paused its decision from taking effect until Jan. 4 to give Trump time to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court. If he does so, the ruling said, Trump's name can remain on the March 5 ballot until the high court weighs in.
Trump's spokesperson has said he would appeal before the deadline, and Trump said in a statement on his social media platform last week that "I'm not an insurrectionist." It's unclear when the Supreme Court could act. It could, if it chooses, take up the case and issue a ruling, although unless it acts with unusual speed, any ruling may end up being applicable only in the general election. Any decision would affect the many similar cases pending in other states.
The court could also determine that the case is moot once the primary deadline is reached, meaning it could temporarily avoid ruling one way or another, but the growing number of challenges to Trump's eligibility make it likelier that the justices will have to weigh in at some point.
Jack Smith election interference case
Still officially scheduled for March 4, special counsel Jack Smith's four-count criminal case alleging Trump conspired to defraud the U.S. by illegally subverting the results of the 2020 presidential election and the peaceful transfer of power has been stalled, at least temporarily.
A stay is in place while Trump, who maintains his actions were an appropriate use of presidential power, appeals U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's ruling shooting down his claim that he's protected by presidential immunity.
Smith has taken action to make sure the appeal is heard as quickly as possible in hope of preserving the March trial date. He asked the Supreme Court to hear the appeal directly, a request it declined without comment Friday.
Smith had also asked the D.C. circuit court to hear Trump's appeal on an expedited basis, a request the appeals court has granted. Trump on Saturday formally requested that the appeals court dismiss the case on immunity grounds.
Oral arguments are scheduled before the appeals court on Jan. 9. It's unclear when the court will rule; after it does, the Supreme Court could act quickly to decide whether to take up the case.
Stormy Daniels case
The first criminal case brought against Trump might be the first to go to trial if the election case winds up being delayed for any significant amount of time.
Trump was charged in March with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his role in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump maintains the case is politically motivated.
While prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office had indicated they would be willing to delay the scheduled March 25 trial in deference to the election interference case, the court date was never officially delayed.
Both sides should expect to get some clarity about how the case will proceed at the next hearing before state Judge Juan Merchan on Feb. 15, when more should be known about the status of the federal election interference trial. Trump is expected to attend.
Classified documents case
In June, Trump was hit with a 37-count federal indictment in Florida alleging he illegally held on to and mishandled piles of highly sensitive national security information at his Florida social club. He was subsequently hit with additional charges alleging he'd tried to cover up his wrongdoing. Trump maintains he didn't do anything improper.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, has scheduled the trial for May 20, but she left open the possibility of pushing it back in a ruling last month. Cannon said she had concerns about "an unusually high volume" of unclassified and classified discovery in the case and about the challenge Trump's team has accessing certain materials that have to be reviewed in secure facilities. Trump's lawyers had argued they need more time to go through all the evidence to better prepare their defense.
Cannon also extended several filing and hearing deadlines, suggesting it is likely she will delay the trial itself.
The next hearing date is March 1, when, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung has said, it's expected that "future scheduling matters, including a potential trial date, will be discussed."
Georgia election interference case
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Georgia case, has yet to set a trial date but is likely to do so early in the new year.
Trump was one of 19 defendants charged in the indictment. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged the group "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump," including by pressuring state officials to change the results, accessing voting machines and data in rural Coffee County, and harassing election workers with bogus fraud claims. Trump has called the case part of a "witch hunt" against him and claimed that Willis, who is Black, is "racist."
Prosecutors initially sought a March trial date but pushed their request back to August after two co-defendants sought a faster trial. Those defendants, former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, pleaded guilty to related charges just before the trial was set to begin.
The DA told the judge an August 2024 date made sense because it was "unlikely to be subject to delay or interference from these other trials."
Trump lawyer Steven Sadow said that date would mean his client, who polls indicate is highly likely to be the Republican presidential nominee, would be on trial through the presidential election. "That would be the most effective election interference in the history of the United States," Sadow said.
Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.
Trump defies judge, gives short speech before being cut off
"Trump can’t speak during closing arguments in NY civil fraud trial, judge says "Mar-a-Lago: The billion-dollar question at heart of Trump fraud trial "Trump says he’s not testifying in his civil fraud trial Monday"""
"Control your client," Judge Engoron warned the former president's lawyer
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he leaves the courtroom during his civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2024 in New York City. Trump won’t make his own closing arguments after his lawyers objected to Judge Arthur Engoron’s insistence that Trump stay within the bounds of “relevant, material facts that are in evidence” of the case. Trump faces a permanent ban from running a business in New York state and $370 million in penalties in the case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Author By Apress PUBLISHED: January 11, 2024 at 10:47 a.m. | UPDATED: January 11, 2024 at 10:55 a.m.
By Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz | Associated Press
NEW YORK — Barred from giving a formal closing argument, Donald Trump seized an opportunity to speak in court at the conclusion of his New York civil trial Thursday, unleashing a barrage of attacks during a six-minute diatribe before being cut off by the judge.
“We have a situation where I am an innocent man,” the former president protested. “I’m being persecuted by someone running for office and I think you have to go outside the bounds.”
After a few minutes, Judge Arthur Engoron — who had denied Trump permission earlier to give a closing statement at the trial — cut him off and recessed for lunch.
Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly disparaged Engoron, accusing him in a social media post Wednesday night of working closely with the New York attorney general “to screw me.”
On Wednesday, Engoron had nixed an unusual plan by Trump to deliver his own closing remarks in the courtroom, in addition to summations from his legal team, after lawyers for the former president would not agree to the judge’s demand that he stick to “relevant” matters.”
After two of Trump’s lawyers had delivered traditional closing arguments Thursday, one of them, Christopher Kise, asked the judge again whether Trump could speak. Engoron asked Trump whether he would abide by the guidelines he had laid out earlier, which included not trying to introduce new evidence or making a campaign speech.
Trump then launched into his remarks.
“This is a fraud on me. What’s happened here, Sir, is a fraud on me,” Trump said. He later accused the judge of not listening to him. “I know this is boring to you.”
“Control your client,” Engoron warned Kise.
Engoron then told Trump he had a minute left, and then adjourned for lunch.
The exchange took place hours after authorities responded to a bomb threat at the judge’s house. Police checked out the threat at Engoron’s Long Island home, which came a day after he denied the former president’s extraordinary request to deliver his own courtroom close, officials said. The proceedings were not delayed.
At 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, hours before the trial’s final day was to begin, Nassau County police said they responded to a “swatting incident” at Engoron’s Great Neck home. Nothing amiss was found at the location, officials said.
The false report came days after a fake emergency call reporting a shooting at the home of the judge in Trump’s Washington, D.C. criminal case. The incidents are among a recent spate of similar false reports at the homes of public officials.
Taking the bench a few minutes late, Engoron made no mention of the incident at his home.
Thursday’s court action featured the start of closing arguments in the trial over allegations that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements he provided to banks, insurance companies and others.
“Forty-four days of trial — not one witness came into this courtroom, your honor, and said there was fraud,” Kise said, contending his client “should get a medal” for his business acumen instead of punishment he deemed the “corporate death penalty.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, wants the judge to impose $370 million in penalties. Trump says he did nothing wrong. He contends outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should’ve flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shield him from liability.
The former president had hoped to make that argument personally, but the judge — initially open to the idea — said no after a Trump lawyer missed a deadline for agreeing to ground rules. Among them, Engoron warned that Trump couldn’t use his closing remarks to “deliver a campaign speech” or use the opportunity to impugn the judge and his staff.
“This entire case is a manufactured claim to pursue a political agenda,” Kise said in his closing argument. “It has been press releases and posturing but no evidence.”
Lawyers from James’ office were to deliver their closing argument Thursday afternoon.
Trump returned to court as a spectator Thursday despite the death of his mother in-law, Amalija Knavs, and the launch of the presidential primary season Monday with the Iowa caucus.
Since the trial began Oct. 2, Trump has gone to court nine times to observe, testify and complain to TV cameras about the case, which he called a “witch hunt and a disgrace.”
He clashed with Engoron and state lawyers during 3½ hours on the witness stand in November and remains under a limited gag order after making a disparaging and false social media post about the judge’s law clerk.
Thursday’s arguments were part of a busy legal and political stretch for Trump.
On Tuesday, he was in court in Washington, D.C., to watch appeals court arguments over whether he is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election — one of four criminal cases against him. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
In New York, James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that gives the state attorney general broad power to investigate allegations of persistent fraud in business dealings.
Kise argued the case amounted to the “weaponization” of a consumer protection statute and, urging Engoron to consider his legacy as a judge, warned that a ruling in the state’s favor would have a chilling effect on every company doing business in the state.
Engoron decided some of the key issues before testimony began. In a pretrial ruling, he found that Trump had committed years of fraud by lying about his riches on financial statements with tricks like claiming his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size.
The trial involves six undecided claims, including allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
Trump’s company and two of his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are also defendants. Eric Trump was also in court for closing arguments.
Besides monetary damages, James wants Trump and his co-defendants barred from doing business in New York.
State lawyers say that by making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms from banks, saving him at least $168 million.
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Trump ordered to pay NYT, reporters nearly $400,000 in legal fees [Excerpts outed: Donald Trump had sought $100 million in damages [...]The newspaper and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner were dismissed from the lawsuit in May. Trump’s claim against his estranged niece, Mary Trump, that she breached a prior settlement agreement by giving tax records to the reporters is still pending. P - New York Judge Robert Reed said that given the “complexity of the issues” in the case and other factors, it was reasonable that Donald Trump be forced to pay lawyers for the Times and the reporters a total of $392,638 in legal fees. P - “Today’s decision shows that the state’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute can be a powerful force for protecting press freedom,” Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoads Ha said, referring to a New York law that bars baseless lawsuits designed to silence critics. Such lawsuits are known as SLAPPs or strategic lawsuits against public participation.] https://www.marinij.com/2024/01/12/trump-ordered-to-pay-nyt-reporters-nearly-400000-in-legal-fees/
Kise, praising Trump as “part of the fabric of the commercial real estate industry” for a half-century, pointed to Trump’s testimony that he intended lenders to do their own research and vetting after receiving his financial statements.
The lawyer also argued that the documents understated — rather than overvalued — the former president’s net worth.
Kise acknowledged that some holdings may have been listed “higher by immaterial” amounts, but he added” “there’s plenty of assets that were undervalued by substantial sums.”
Engoron said he is deciding the case because neither side asked for a jury and state law doesn’t allow for juries for this type of lawsuit. He said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the month.
Last month, in a ruling denying a defense bid for an early verdict, the judge signaled he’s inclined to find Trump and his co-defendants liable on at least some claims.
“Valuations, as elucidated ad nauseum in this trial, can be based on different criteria analyzed in different ways,” Engoron wrote in the Dec. 18 ruling. “But a lie is still a lie.”
Associated Press reporters Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
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