Attorneys for former President Trump on Friday filed to request a temporary pause in his civil fraud trial in New York State.
In the 1,154-page court filing, Trump’s legal team wrote that New York State Supreme Court Arthur Engoron pre-trial summary decision finding that Trump and his business were liable for business fraud, imposed “unauthorized, undemanded, overbroad relief” to the New York Attorney General’s office, which will result in “significant, irreparable harm” to the former President and his business.
In his summary judgment, Engoron agreed with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused Trump and his companies, as well as his two adult sons, of committing more than 200 instances of bank, tax and insurance fraud over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021.
The New York “Supreme Court clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing.
Engoron’s pre-trial ruling ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment—making it nearly or completely impossible for the Trump Organization to continue to do business in New York State. The judge further said that an independent monitor would continue to oversee the company’s operations.
Trump’s attorneys called that “sprawling and punitive” order “both unprecedented in a civil action in this State and indefensible under the law or any reasonable view of the facts.”
The Trump team further asserted that the order would unquestionably inflict severe and irreparable harm” to hundreds of “innocent” employees who depend on Trump’s businesses for their livelihoods “without any jurisdiction or due process.”
On Thursday, when Trump attorney Chris Kise informed the court that he would be seeking a stay of the trial, prosecutors objected, arguing shorter than required notice and that the defense had not described the type of stay it would be seeking.
“It’s not notice to say that we’re doing something but don’t know what we’re doing yet,” said New York State prosecutor Andrew Amer.
The trial began on Monday in Manhattan. On Tuesday, Judge Engoron issued a gag order “on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking” about “any” member of his staff after Trump forwarded a social media post falsely accusing Engoron’s clerk of being the “girlfriend” of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Engoron has said he expect the trial to last until around December 23.
