Former President Donald Trump saw two major delays on Thursday in his web of legal proceedings, including the temporary removal from a federal district court’s calendar of the trial date in his criminal 2020 election subversion case.
First, the verdict in Trump’s New York civil business fraud trial was delayed at least another week after presiding Judge Arthur Engoron initially said he would try to publish his final ruling by the end of January.
A spokesperson for the New York State Office of Court Administration said Engoron’s verdict is expected to come in early to mid-February, but he added that that was a “rough estimate” and “subject to modifications,” CNBC reported. Closing arguments in the civil fraud trial finished last week as state Attorney General Letitia James seeks to fine Trump more than $370 million over claims he misrepresented the value of his company’s assets to ensure more favorable business loans and insurance premiums.
Meanwhile, the slated March 4 start date of Trump’s election interference trial in Washington, D.C., no longer appears on the federal district court’s public calendar. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s oversight of the case is on hold as Trump is appealing her ruling against his presidential immunity claims to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Chutkan ruled on Dec. 1 against Trump’s effort to dismiss his case based on the argument that he is immune from prosecution for “official acts” taken during his presidency. The appeals court heard oral arguments on Trump’s appeal on Jan. 9.
But the appeals court announced Friday that no opinions are slated to be released, indicating that the three-judge panel’s decision on that matter could be delayed for at least another week.
Due to allegations of impropriety against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis that have gummed up procedures in the Georgia racketeering case, as well as considerations of a delay by the judge in Trump’s Florida classified documents case, the criminal indictment that looks closest to a trial before the November presidential election is the criminal hush money case in Manhattan.
Last April, Trump was indicted on 34 counts for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg previously said he would defer to the trial schedule for special counsel Jack Smith’s federal criminal cases against Trump, but due to indefinite delays, Bragg’s trial against Trump could begin in March.
The Supreme Court could weigh in on the immunity dispute that is pending at the D.C. Circuit, which could result in a quick ruling from the high court or, possibly, an oral argument session over the question. However, the justices do not have to consider the matter for oral argument.
In December, Smith attempted to salvage Trump’s early March trial date in the election interference case by asking the Supreme Court to consider Trump’s appeal before letting the D.C. Circuit weigh in, though the justices rejected that effort.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Chutkan has subtly hinted for weeks that Trump’s trial in Washington would be delayed. On Jan. 24, she scheduled a new trial for April 2, when the trial would have been ongoing under the original scheduling order. On Wednesday, the judge set a March 18 hearing for another defendant, saying, “I suspect in March I will not be in trial.”
Additionally, in December, Chutkan set a trial in a separate case for July 2, a possible sign she thought Trump’s trial would be concluded by that point.
