In the newest development of Donald Trump’s fraud lawsuit, Judge Arthur Engoron has ordered the former president’s legal team to “control him.” Trump has been known to go on length tangents in the courtroom, often attacking the judge and prosecutor New York General Attorney Letita James. Judge Engoron is running out of patience, willing Trump’s lawyers to do something about the businessman’s behavior, saying, “If you can’t, I will.”
Letita James is suing Donald Trump and his company, The Trump Organization, for $250M for inflating the value of his net worth by billions of dollars in order to receive perks such as more favorable bank loans and tax breaks. Judge Engoron has already ruled that the company has committed fraud, but the trial has yet to determine what the penalties will be. Keep reading for more information.
Judge Engoron tells Donald Trumps’ lawyers to ‘control him’
In a 35-paged ruling released in September, Judge Engoron determined that the inflation of the club’s worth “can only be considered fraud.” Trump’s latest tangent included attacking the Judge for this ruling. “He called me a fraud and he didn’t know anything about me… It’s a terrible thing you’ve done. You know nothing about me. You believe this political hack back there, and this is unfortunate,” the former president said during court on Monday, Nov. 6th.
Judge Engoron requested that Trump keep his answers short, telling him, “This is not a political rally. Please just answer the questions, no speeches.”
Trump then responded, "I'm sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me." Trump has been involved in a number of legal battles since his presidential term ended in 2020, and many of them have not gone his way.
"You can attack me in whichever way you want, but please answer the questions," the Judge said to the businessman. He then addressed Trump's legal team, telling them, "I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can't, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can."
NY Attorney General Letita James sues Donald Trump for fraudulent activities
Trump is facing $250M in fines if this case goes the way that NY Attorney General Letita James wants it to. The fraudulent activities that the Trump Organization is being sued for include inflating Trump's net worth for financial gain. Essentially, Trump said that his members-only Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach is valued between $426.5M and $612.1M, but a Palm Beach County assessor appraised the club’s market value to be between $18M and 27.6M – which is about 2,300% less than what Trump claimed.
For this, James is requesting $250M in fines, a ban on the family from operating any New York businesses in the future, and a ban on Trump and the Trump Organization from buying commercial real estate in New York for the next five years.
Trump has vehemently denied any fraudulent activity on his part or his company's part, saying in court, "This is the opposite of fraud. The fraud is her," referring to James.
As the lawsuit continues to develop, Trump is not only wearing down Judge Engoron's patience, but also racking up a lot of fines. Two weeks ago, he was fined $10,000 for speaking to reporters outside of the courthouse during a break. It doesn’t seem to be in the former president’s nature to be controlled, so we will be watching closely to see what Trump’s lawyers do in response to the Judge's request.
