Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, was seeking at least $250 million in penalties, a lifetime ban on Donald Trump , Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump from operating companies in New York, and a five-year ban on Trump and the Trump Organization’s involvement in commercial real estate when the case first started. Despite his numerous legal problems, the ex-president spent many days in the Manhattan courthouse for the $250 million civil trial. As reported from Radar Online , George Conway, Kellyanne’s ex-husband, also revealed that Donald was ‘terrified’ of losing his company, which is why he was so active in his New York fraud trial.
Even if Trump faces probable prison time in other instances, the New York fraud case was more important to the ex-president, according to George. On an appearance in Morning Joe , George said the issue was crucial since it may destroy Trump’s real estate enterprise and make it illegal for him to do business in his home state: “This puts him out of business. This case is putting him out of business. And that’s his essence. And I think that he’s just terrified that, you know, he’s not going to have the Trump Tower, and he’s not going to have all the things that he has bragged about for decades, for six decades. That’s going to be gone, and he won’t be able to run a business, and the question is, how much money is he going to be allowed to keep from that? And that to him is striking at the core of Donald Trump?”
Attorneys for the state of New York filed a brief late in the day in which they expressed support for the temporary hold on revoking Trump’s business licenses but expressed concern that a stay of Trump’s civil fraud trial may lead to a cascade of delays. The New York Attorney General, James, reportedly agreed to ‘stay enforcement… pending the end of trial and entry of final judgment,’ reported ABC News . However, she fought against Trump’s request to postpone the trial and other aspects of his appeal.
James thought that cutting short the trial prematurely would lead to turmoil and excessive waste of public resources as well as the resources of witnesses. She also argued that any delay might have a domino effect on the other criminal and civil matters ongoing against Trump. By November 9th, Trump’s legal team had to file their response. Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s former chief financial officer, was also recently convicted on charges of perjury in relation to the case, as was reported by NBC News .
Trump has now become the Republican nominee for the White House. However, more trials scheduled for this year in New York, Washington, DC, and Florida might derail his chances. In January, Trump fought and lost a defamation suit by E. Jean Carroll. Now, Trump will face two trials related to his alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and the January 6 rebellion at the United States Capitol. The trial against Trump for concealing sensitive information at his Mar-a-Lago home is scheduled to begin in May.
Editor’s Note : This article was originally published on November 1, 2023. It has since been updated.