Wow, there’s a catchy headline. Watch for a waterfall of ketchup to manifest when a certain party gets wind of it. Newsweek is reporting that Justice Arthur Engoron could render a verdict tomorrow. And that that verdict could be a real orange ball crusher.
Any penalty would be a major blow to Trump, who found fame and fortune in real estate, and still cites his sharp business acumen as a reason why he also became a success in politics. The former president has long denied any wrongdoing and claims the case against him is a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
Trump is accused of filing fraudulent financial statements that inflated the value of his properties and assets by billions of dollars to obtain perks such as improved loan terms or tax breaks.
James was originally seeking $250 million in penalties when she filed her suit against Trump, The Trump Organization, children Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and others in September 2022.
In early January, James’ office argued that Trump the others named in her lawsuit should pay $370 million in penalties over claims that Trump’s financial statements vastly overvalued his net worth for years.
Other penalties that Engoron could hand down include banning the former president and The Trump Organization from operating businesses in New York.
Trump is also at risk of having his properties removed from his control or being prohibited from applying for any new loans in the state for five years.
Isn’t that something? And here’s where it gets worse for Trump. Engoron’s ruling “can be appealed but cannot be wiped away,” according to legal analyst Lisa Rubin, if Trump would get elected. Of course in that eventuality, Trump may decide to nuke New York, who knows? All we know is that electing that man to office a second time would be a recipe for catastrophe and all bets are off.
Rubin also noted that Trump cannot “just pick up and move” his companies out of New York in order to escape punishment.
In September, 2022, the same day that James announced the lawsuit, a new Delaware-based entity called the Trump Organization II, was registered in New York state.
In response, James’ office called for measures to be implemented to ensure that the original Trump Organization does not move assets out of New York into the Delaware company or anywhere else without court approval ahead of the civil trial.
“Without telling the judge or the AG […] the Trump Org. cannot just play three-card Monty & move their buildings or golf courses or even their cash around so they wind up in new business entities outside New York,” Rubin posted. “Instead, at best, they have to give their adversaries, a court, and the court-appointed monitor a two-week head start, in which time they could be further enjoined. The bottom line is they’re mostly stuck in place—and on Friday, it could get much, much worse.”
How I hope. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if tomorrow, Friday the 16th, became Black Friday in Trump world. Maybe we’ll get lucky. But the good news is that whenever the verdict is handed down, it should be along these lines.
