Following a hearing on Friday, an appeals court decided to halt the dissolution of former President Donald Trump’s businesses, granting a stay.
President Trump only gained a portion of the victory because the appeals court allowed the trial to go on, which started this week.
Prosecutors had resisted the motion for a postponement, claiming defense lawyers were trying “to sow chaos” and disturbance.
Following the break, the Trump Organization released a statement in which they described the judge’s decision to revoke the Trumps’ company certificates as “overzealous.”
“In clear violation of their fundamental constitutional rights and due process, Judge Engoron’s order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000 hardworking New Yorkers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing, and were never given their day in court.” The statement says, “We will not stop fighting for our amazing staff and our firm against this politically driven persecution.
“Judge Engoron’s order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000 hard-working New Yorkers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing and, were never given their day in court – in clear violation of their fundamental Constitutional rights and Due Process. We will continue to vigorously defend our company and our incredible employees from this politically-motivated persecution,” the statement reads.
In an attempt to put the ongoing trial on hold, President Trump’s attorneys filed a 1,154-page appeal of the civil fraud case against him on October 4 and 5.
“[New York] Supreme Court’s Sept. 26 and Oct. 5, 2023 decision impose unauthorized, undemanded, overbroad relief without proper factual or legal predicate, which will result in significant, irreparable harm,” states the reason for requesting a stay on the case.
Days before the trial started, President Trump had already attempted to postpone it, and his plea had been turned down.
President Trump will lose his entire real estate empire in a matter of days unless his appeal is granted, as per Justice Arthur Engoron’s decision on September 26th, which found him liable for fraud and ordered the dissolution of the Trump Organization and related LLCs. Attorneys further contend that hundreds of workers will be impacted.
“Supreme Court clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” the filing reads, describing the summary judgment as a “miscarriage of justice.”
The judge’s ruling from October 5th mandates President Trump to notify the court before applying for any new business certificates, even if they are not located in New York, as his previous ones have already been annulled. Executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization and his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are subject to comparable sanctions.
Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, the upstate family retreat Seven Springs, and private homes owned by Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are among the structures they risk losing.
Michael Cohen, the former attorney for President Trump, filed the lawsuit claiming that his boss had exaggerated Trump’s net worth. In September 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against the former president, alleging that he had deceived the state by inflating his net worth in order to obtain better terms from banks and insurers. James had previously stated during her campaign for the position that she would sue the president for fraud.
A week or so prior to the trial, Justice Engoron ruled on one of the seven allegations in the lawsuit, finding President Trump guilty of fraud.
On October 2, the trial got underway, and President Trump surprised everyone by showing up and having a lengthy conversation with the media. He came back on the second day and stayed for a portion of the third. In addition to determining President Trump’s penalty obligations, the trial will address the remaining six fraud allegations in the prosecutor’s case.
The appeal is longer than thirty pages, with case precedents referenced taking up the rest more than one thousand pages.
The most recent appeal notes that the prosecutors never requested the liquidation of the Trump Organization in their petition, arguing that the court “abused its discretion” and overreached its jurisdiction in imposing the sanctions.
Rather, Ms. James had requested a five-year ban on President Trump and his sons taking executive corporate positions in the state, along with $250 million in penalties. The attorneys contend that she failed to mention the statute that would have allowed the judge to grant remedy in the form of a dissolution.
“The consequences of enforcing the MSJ Decision [summary judgment on Sept. 26] are dire, and once done, cannot be undone,” the attorneys wrote.
They pointed out that “innocent nonparties and employees who depend on the affected entities for their livelihoods” are being swept up in the “overbroad” ruling. The decision was without process, statutory authority, or trial, and “renders impossible the lawful operation of multiple businesses and threatens termination of hundreds of New York employees without any jurisdiction or due process.”
“These non-parties are impacted without finding of any wrongdoing on the part of businesses,” they wrote. “Perhaps worst of all, it seeks to impose the corporate death penalty with no statutory authority for such remedy.”
When lawyers questioned Justice Engoron about the decision’s implications for specific properties, such as Trump Tower or Eric Trump’s home, he acknowledged that he had no idea what the full range of effects might be.
However, the attorneys contend that the Sept. 26 ruling will be implemented soon and that the Oct. 5 decision of the judge did not answer any of the queries posed by the counsel. The lawyers contend that prior to the order on September 26, they were not given the chance to submit their case.
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