New York Fraud Case Against Trump is Riven with Political Bias

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By Gregg Jarrett

The civil fraud brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Donald Trump opened Monday before Judge Arthur Engoron. In this non-jury trial, the former president stands accused of inflating the value of his real estate properties and other assets to obtain favorable loans and insurance.

This case should never have been filed, and Trump has several viable defenses:

1. This all about valuations of property, which is highly subjective. It’s opinion, not fact. Disparities are common. But the lenders and insurers did their own independent “due diligence.” They confirmed Trump’s valuations and found no fraud or false statements.

2. Those same banks made enormous profits from Trump—$100 million plus interest— when he repaid all the loans. It’s hard to claim fraud when no one was harmed and there’s no victim.

3. Trump’s valuations complied with accepted General Accounting Principles…and were performed not by Trump, but by expert professionals who will testify at trial that they were valid.

4. Some of the claims are so old that they’re barred by the statute of limitations, which the judge ignored.

This is a classic case of a political prosecution. AG Letitia James ran for office on the promise of “getting Trump.” She prejudged a case of which she had no knowledge. That’s an egregious violation of the cannons of ethics governing prosecutors.

The judge seems equally biased. For example, his pronouncement that Mar-a-Lago is only worth $18 million is laughable. Florida real estate experts say the land alone is worth $500 million.

Nevertheless, the die is cast. Having already ruled against Trump last week on one of the main fraud claims, it’s obvious that Judge Engoron will find in favor of James. This will set the stage for a lengthy appeal.

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10/02/23 – “Mind-blowing”: Legal experts warn that lawyer’s incredible “screw-up” is “very ominous” for Trump –

New York Judge Arthur Ergoron on Monday said that he is holding a bench trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump because “nobody asked for” a jury trial on either side, The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld reported. “Trump isn’t getting a jury trial in his $250m civil fraud suit brought against him by New York AG James because his legal team didn’t request one on the paperwork,” explained The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell.

Legal experts were stunned by the revelation, characterizing it as a blunder by the former president’s lawyers. “So Alina Habba didn’t demand a jury trial?!” wrote MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang. “I wonder how Trump feels about this screw-up by his legal team.” Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman called the decision “mind-blowing.”

“For Trump to have his fate in the hands of this judge, whom he has vilified, is malpractice by his lawyers and very ominous for him,” Litman wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s incredibly easy to ask for a jury trial. You just check a box on a form. Hard to believe that Trump understood that his lawyers hadn’t done it when he’s been savaging the judge who is now the factfinder in his huge fraud trial,” he added. “I honestly can’t believe that any lawyer hired on such an important case could make this mistake,” wrote defense attorney Andrew Fleischman. “But I also can’t think of any strategic reason you’d want a bench trial in front of a judge who just sanctioned your lawyers for making frivolous arguments.”

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The ny fraud case will be overturned on appeal.

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Are Bench Trials Always Advantageous?

No. Because the judge is sitting in for the jury, there’s no need to present jury instructions on either side of the case. For that reason, the judge decides the proper instructions in consideration of the admissible evidence.

Jury instructions may offer grounds for a future appeal because the appellate lawyer may argue that the judge provided reversible error in the jury instructions. Since jury instructions aren’t necessary for a bench trial, the defendant may have fewer grounds on which to assert an appeal if he or she is convicted.

To make matters worse, Trump has repeatedly attacked the presiding judge:

He called Judge Engoron a ‘Democrat club politician’ and a ‘Democrat operative.’ After Enogoron’s summary judgement ruling, Trump called him ‘deranged.’ Engoron attended Columbia University, got his law degree from New York University, and worked as a litigator and a law clerk.

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This case is a flop. Go ahead judge, order liquidation of Trump. The appeal will overturn your ridiculous decision with prejudice.

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Americas #1 worse enemies is the NYT/CNN they give us Fake News 24/7 and was Stalin, Hitler and Castros Propagandists they were also the Viet Congs Propagandists their also behind the 1619 Project we have even more reasons to totally Boycott the NYT

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