It’s been quite a year – uh, we mean a week – for Donald Trump and his court cases: a flurry of headlines from all four criminal trials, confirmation of a March 25 start date for one of them, plus a big, pricey judgment in a civil lawsuit against the former president. And there’s more to come.
Okay, let’s get to it.
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What’s ahead
In New York, some Trump lawyers are preparing to appeal Justice Arthur Engoron’s order that Trump pay more than $350 million – plus what the New York attorney general’s office estimates is about $100 million in interest – after the judge ruled that Trump and his namesake business used false financial data to obtain better rates from banks and insurers. Engoron also banned Trump and others from holding leadership roles at the Trump Organization or at other companies in New York for three years. Trump vowed to appeal.
Other Trump lawyers are preparing for the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, which will also be in Manhattan. More on that below.
In the Florida classified document case, motions are due Thursday from still more Trump lawyers, who are expected to argue the indictment should be dismissed on a number of grounds, including claims of presidential immunity.
And the drama will continue for at least another week in Georgia, where a kind of mini-trial over prosecutors’ conduct grinds on. The judge overseeing Trump’s state election interference case there must decide if the prosecution was compromised by a personal relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis and a lawyer she hired to work on the case.
Now, a recap of last week’s action in the four criminal trials.
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Georgia: State case on 2020 election
– The details: Trump faces 13 state charges for allegedly trying to undo the election results in that state. Four of his 18 co-defendants have pleaded guilty.
– Planned trial date: None yet
– Last week: We said it before and we’ll say it again: It’s messy.
Willis, the district attorney, has defended her relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, saying they only engaged in a personal relationship after she hired him to work on the case. Defense attorneys trying to get Willis disqualified say they have evidence the romance began before she hired him. On that key question, the star witness refused to answer, citing attorney-client privilege – another headache for the judge.
– Defense attorneys allege that Willis has financially benefited from the Trump prosecution, accusing Wade of paying for trips he took with Willis. Willis and Wade both testified, admitting to taking trips. She insisted she always reimbursed him for her share – in cash.
– Willis’s father also took the stand, saying he often told his daughter to carry cash – and to keep “six months worth of cash always.”
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D.C.: Federal case on 2020 election
– The details: Four counts related to conspiring to obstruct the 2020 election results.
– Planned trial date: Unclear
– Last week: Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to keep the proceedings in the case on pause while Trump appeals a ruling from the federal appeals court in D.C. that said he is not immune from prosecution over his acts while in office.
Prosecutors argued against further delay, saying the public deserves a “speedy and fair verdict.”
– If the Supreme Court declines to take up the matter – letting the appeals court ruling stand – the case could go to trial in late spring.
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Florida: Federal classified documents case
– The details: Trump faces 40 federal charges that he kept top-secret government documents at Mar-a-Lago – his home and private club – and thwarted government demands to return them.
– Planned trial date: May 20
– Last week: Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who is overseeing the case, met separately behind closed doors with prosecutors and Trump’s team to determine what additional classified materials should be released to the former president as part of discovery. Trump attended the hearing.
– This is a typical part of cases involving classified materials. Cannon will decide what additional classified materials prosecutors must give to Trump – and if those materials require any redactions or safeguards.
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New York: State hush money case
– The details: 34 charges connected to a 2016 hush money payment.
– Planned trial date: March 25
– Last week: At another criminal hearing attended by Trump, a New York state judge made clear he intends to go forward with the late March trial date. This almost certainly will be the first criminal case against Trump to go to trial.
For months, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan appeared to be waiting to see how the timing in the D.C. federal case unfolded – and might have delayed his trial so the D.C. one could go first. With the D.C. case on pause as the presidential immunity appeal plays out, Merchan said his trial would start next month, and likely last until early May.
But the biggest Trump court news in the Big Apple last week was the separate civil judgment against Trump and his business associates for inflating their property values to get better rates with banks. Trump was fined more than $354 million, and his adult sons and a former top executive were fined a total of $9 million more. Plus interest.
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Nerd word of the week
Jointly and severally liable. This is a common phrase in civil court judgments where multiple people or entities are ordered to pay money. The term means the parties ordered to pay are individually and collectively responsible for the entire penalty. For example, part of Engoron’s ruling last week found Trump, his trust, and eight of his companies “jointly and severally liable” for $168 million. The language is designed to make it easier for a plaintiff – in this case the New York attorney general – to recover the full amount.
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Question Time
Q. Has Trump already paid the fines he owes for violating his gag orders – and the money he owes for defaming E. Jean Carroll?
A. The former president has paid the $15,000 he owes New York courts for twice violating Engoron’s gag order, according to our colleague Shayna Jacobs. He has also paid into escrow the initial $5 million he was fined in May after a jury found Trump liable for abusing Carroll and defaming her.
Now, what it appears he hasn’t yet paid: In January, a Manhattan federal jury said Trump must pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million for defaming her. Trump has vowed to appeal the ruling but in order to do that, he would need to post a hefty bond or deposit $83.3 million in cash with the court.
The ink is barely dry on the recent $354 million judgment against him – plus roughly $100 million in additional interest – so it’s still too early to determine when and how he will pay it, or if he will seek to put that off as part of his appeal, which must be filed in 30 days.
Bottom line: In less than a month, New York courts have fined Donald Trump more than half a billion dollars.
(c) 2024 , The Washington Post · Perry Stein, Devlin Barrett
