In a frenetic eleventh-hour attempt to thwart a trial poised to shake the very foundations of Donald Trump’s corporate empire, the former president’s legal cavalry has turned their cannons toward the one presiding over the impending storm—a judge. With the urgency of an impending tempest, Trump’s attorneys have unleashed a lawsuit aimed directly at Justice Arthur F. (thedailybeast.com) Engoron, a dramatic gambit in their bid to halt Attorney General Letitia James’ relentless pursuit.
This is no ordinary legal maneuver; it’s a desperate roll of the dice, coming so close to the trial’s October 2nd commencement. Trump’s legal guardians have invoked an “Article 78 special proceeding,” hoping to entice an appellate judge into a battle that could obliterate the case. (thedailybeast.com) (thedailybeast.com) Clifford S. (thedailybeast.com) Robert and Michael Madaio, attorneys of the former president, left no room for ambiguity as they put pen to paper, “Although he has yet to perform his lawful duty, Justice Engoron plans to proceed with the trial of the Attorney General’s claims on October 2, 2023—just nineteen days from the date of this petition.”
This audacious move aligns with Trump’s recent modus operandi, where he’s embarked on a relentless quest to subvert the orders of federal judges. (thedailybeast.com) In Washington and West Palm Beach, his legal theatrics have fallen on deaf ears, the judges unmoved by his relentless attempts to bend the law to his will.
Trump’s legal vanguard chose the First Department appellate court in New York as their battleground. This court has already weighed in on Trump’s case and several others that trace their origins to the concrete canyons of Manhattan. (iapps.courts.state.ny.us) Their latest legal salvo alleges a conspiracy between Engoron and James, a partnership aimed at defying appellate orders that could curtail the colossal bank fraud lawsuit against Trump. (glonme.com) (thedailybeast.com) This unexpected turn has ensnared the judge, who will now defend himself side by side with the Attorney General, aided by the court’s own legal arsenal.
Trump’s legal brass contends that Engoron has overstepped his boundaries, and they are resolute in their demand for an appellate judge to rein him in. This skirmish is merely the latest escalation in their relentless campaign against the trial court judge, who has grown increasingly weary of their delaying tactics. (thedailybeast.com)
This summer, a state appellate court ordered Engoron to determine which Trump Organization real estate deals are beyond the reach of the Attorney General’s scrutiny regarding potential bank and insurance fraud. The judge’s impending decision hangs like a sword of Damocles, but Team Trump is impatient, using this pending judgment as yet another bulwark to stall the trial. (glonme.com) When they sought a three-week delay, Engoron swiftly quashed that request.
In their latest filing, Trump’s legal team lamented the judge’s terseness and the perceived disdain in his brief, nine-word reply, “Decline to sign; Defendants’ arguments are completely without merit.” They construed Engoron’s response as an act of defiance, a judge unwilling to yield to the court’s mandate.
These legal warriors are tasked with defending not only the former president but also his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, and a labyrinthine web of corporate entities. As Trump, the leading Republican primary candidate for 2024, stands at the precipice of multiple criminal trials, his presidential ambitions hang in the balance. (glonme.com) (thedailybeast.com) The legal tempest begins in March, spanning Washington, New York, Florida, and possibly Georgia, a maelstrom that threatens to engulf him.
However, before these criminal trials loom on the horizon, there is the impending civil fraud trial, a trial that could dismantle the Trump Organization. Attorney General Letitia James, armed with over three years of investigation into the real estate magnate’s finances, seeks to strip away what she claims are over $250 million in ill-gotten gains. Her aim extends even further—to tear up the very business licenses that sustain the Trump dynasty, choking off their financial lifeline and preventing them from running a corporate empire from the epicenter of finance. James accuses Trump of conjuring billions in fictitious assets, a decade-long saga of bank and insurance fraud that stretched from opulent Manhattan penthouses to sprawling wooded estates. (thedailybeast.com) (thedailybeast.com) The stage is set, the drama awaits, and the fate of Trump’s empire hangs in the balance.
