New York judge won’t delay enforcement of $355M penalties in Trump fraud case

A New York judge said Thursday he would not delay enforcement of the multimillion-dollar judgement in former President Trump’s civil fraud case.

Trump’s legal team asked Judge Arthur Engoron to push back enforcement by 30 days in order to “protect” the defendants’ appellate rights and “ensure an orderly post judgment process.”

“You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay,” Engoron wrote in an email reply to Trump lawyer Clifford Robert’s request, filed to the court docket Thursday. “I am confident that the Appellate Division will protect your appellate rights.”

A judgement has since been docketed, though it is not yet available for public viewing. The order officially starts the clock on paying any penalties.

Engoron ordered Trump to pay a $354.8 million penalty, plus interest, last week after finding he conspired to alter his net worth for tax and insurance benefits. Since Engoron’s ruling last Friday, more than $87,000 in interest has been added to that amount each day.

Top executives at the Trump Organization, including Trump’s adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were ordered to pay several million dollars as well.

The defendants’ efforts to delay enforcement of the judgement came after the attorney general’s office filed its proposed judgement, and Robert, who primarily represented Trump’s sons and other business entities, questioned why the defense was not given the opportunity to submit a proposed counterjudgment.

Engoron directed Robert to inform him of any “specific” differences the defense judgement would have. The Trump family lawyer said the state’s proposed judgement had two errors and accused New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) of violating standard practices.

“The Attorney General has not filed any motion on notice, nor moved to settle the proposed Judgment; her unseemly rush to memorialize a ‘judgment’ violates all accepted practice in New York state court,” Robert said, asking for a stay in the judgement’s enforcement.

The judge replied that one of the errors, regarding the starting date for ex-Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg’s prejudgement interest, had been remedied. On the other, regarding the defendants’ addresses, Engoron found “no evidence” the state’s representation was incorrect.

Robert again argued that the defense would face “considerable” prejudice without a stay, which Engoron rebuffed.

Efforts to appeal are also kickstarted by the formal judgement hitting the court docket. Trump and his co-defendants have 30 days to appeal from the date of Engoron’s decision.