A potential perjury deal with a key witness could shake up the verdict in Donald Trump’s $370m New York fraud trial, a new court document reveals.
Arthur Engoron, the judge presiding over the case, sent an email to the trial’s lawyers on Monday asking them to give him more information about a supposed perjury deal that Allen Weisselberg, a former Trump Organization executive, is making with the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg.
While Bragg’s office is not involved with the fraud trial – which is being prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office – the district attorney’s office is overseeing a separate hush money case against Trump. The New York Times reported on 1 February that Bragg’s office was in the early stages of a deal with Weisselberg.
IANAL, but…
This is just a civil trial but it’s pretty high stakes. Engoran already found him guilty of fraud and revoked his business license in NY (which was stayed for now). If he rules that Trump must pay $300M, Trump will have to put up a $360M bond to appeal it or else they’ll pretty quickly start coming after his assets. And there’s no way he’ll get protected by bankruptcy for willful fraud either.
I actually can’t remember the potential penalty for the hush money case though. Maybe they figure he’s already fucked to the max here so it couldn’t get much worse?
It’s also important to factor that Trump has the worst lawyers.
Do you get a prize if you have done so much purgury and fraud that when you admit to it, people can’t figure out if this is a good or bad thing?
Yes. The prize is generally prison.
Edit: unless you’re rich or a politician, then it’s a toss-up.