With Judge Engoron clearly having made up his mind before the Trump New York fraud case had ever started, there has been speculation that Trump may try to work out a deal with the Attorney General’s office.
Trump put that notion to rest on Thursday, saying they are going after a dismissal.
With Donald Trump choosing not to take the stand again in the New York fraud case, the trial wrapped up a few days early.
All the Defense witnesses have been called, and closing arguments are now scheduled for January 11; then, we will finally get a decision from Engoron on the case.
As noted above, there has been some speculation that Donald Trump may seek a deal with Attorney General Letitia James, knowing the odds are stacked against him. Trump attorney Alina Habba met with Engoron behind closed doors, as did Letitia James and her attorneys, which sparked the rumors that a deal may be in the works.
Trump, however, has stated a deal is not even a consideration.
Trump took to Truth Social, posting:
“We keep asking for dismissal, but the Trump hater (judge) won’t let it go.
“An insult to America! He ruled that I was a fraud before he even saw the case, then tried to get me to settle.”
Closing argument aside, Trump is going to lose this case, and he knows it, as does his lead attorney, Alina Habba, who stated that they had “lost before we even got to give any bit of evidence.”
She was clearly referring to the pre-trial partial summary judgment issued by Engoron, where Trump was ordered to forfeit his business license in New York (that decision was paused by another judge on appeal).
Trump’s best chance of winning this case has always been on appeal, which will be filed as soon as Engoron reveals his decision in January. Believe me, Trump will exhaust every avenue to have this decision overturned, even if it means going to the Supreme Court for relief.
The good news for Trump is that this is not a federal indictment but instead a civil suit, so it should not impact his numbers with voters.
Now we play the waiting game until the calendar flips, we hear closing arguments, and Judge Engoron reveals the verdict that we all know is coming.
