Judge Engoron delayed ruling raises eyebrows

People on social media have speculated why Judge Arthur Engoron delayed his ruling in former President Donald Trump‘s New York civil fraud case.

In September 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Trump for inflating the value of the former president’s assets to get more favorable loans. James is asking for $370 million and for Trump to be permanently barred from doing business in New York. Trump has maintained his innocence and claimed the case is politically motivated as he is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.

After Engoron determined that Trump was liable for fraud, a months-long damages trial ensued late last year. The trial ended in early January with Engoron saying that he would try to have his ruling by January 31. However, a New York court spokesperson said on Thursday that a verdict will not be reached until early to mid-February, adding that the new deadline is “subject to modifications.”

Engoron’s delayed deadline has raised some eyebrows online.

Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Why has Judge Engoron not issued his decision on the Trump civil fraud? One reason could well be the news that the Trump chief financial officer may be pleading to lying to Judge Engoron in a way to help Trump. And the Judge is waiting for that to support his decision against DJT.”

Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney replied to Weissmann’s post, writing, “That would explain the timing. Engoron court admin is saying an extra couple weeks, when Engoron knows he set expectations for 1/31. and from the Times report, have to think it would take at least that long—which is not very—to tie up a perjury plea.”

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Organization CFO, is negotiating a plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, according to people with knowledge on the matter. Weisselberg would plead guilty to perjury, admitting that he lied during his testimony in Trump’s civil fraud trial and during an interview with James’ office.

Another twist in the case that may factor into Engoron’s delayed ruling occurred when Barbara Jones, a former federal judge, submitted a report to Engoron in late January. Jones, who acted as a monitor overseeing Trump’s companies, said that the former president didn’t disclose payments of more than $40 million to himself, undervalued the annual management costs of the Trump building by $1.6 million, and waited eight months to disclose the dissolution of some of his companies.

“Absent steps to address the items above, my observations suggest misstatements and errors may continue to occur, which could result in incorrect or inaccurate reporting of financial information to third parties,” Jones warned in the report.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign and New York State Unified Court System via email for comment.