Category New York Appeals Court Reinstitutes President Trump Gag Order

Mar 26 2024

New York Appeals Court Intervenes at Last Minute to Lower Trump Appellate Bond and Remove AG Letitia James Restrictions on Trump Family Organization


Posted originally on the CTH on March 25, 2024 | Sundance

The New York State appeals court waited until the last minute to intervene and rule substantial modifications to the lower court ruling. [SEE pdf Here]

The timing here is transparently political.  The court could have intervened earlier with this decision but appears to have preferred to allow the Lawfare narrative the maximum amount of time to permeate the anti-Trump news cycle.  However, faced with the reality of a full appellate review later this year collapsing and reversing the underlying case, the NY court had few options other than timing their intervention.

The appeals court lowered the bond amount to the maximum possible in real terms.  Meaning the demand for a $454 million bond was never sustainable, explainable, or legally comprehensible under all precedent.  In reality it was an impossible bond for any organization to obtain, and ultimately that issue was going to lead to massive legal consequences within the New York state legal system.  They might hate Trump, but without intervention New York would be collapsing their corporate business structure.

The lower court ruling was stayed, and the bond was lowered to an obtainable $175 million for the appeal.  The lower court ruling against Trump organization officers was also stayed, allowing the corporate leadership of the various Trump organization LLCs to remain as they are.  All of the substantive elements of Judge Engoron’s verdict were stayed, pending appeal.

[Source, Page 2]

Attorney General Letitia James was left only with a public relations narrative to sell, saying in part, “the $464 million judgment — plus interest — against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.” Duh, pending appeal – which is transparently obvious and the point therein.

Once again, Lawfare at its root is a narrative weapon used primarily to sway public opinion.  AG James statement in response to the appeals court intervention is essentially an affirmation of this reality.

Appearing in New York to defend against another Lawfare operation, President Trump spoke briefly to the media after the ruling was made public.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8WyrlrWN99g%3Ffeature%3Doembed

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The hardline leftists always end up with a case of the ‘outcome sads’, because they do not accept the nature of Lawfare intent.  However, the non-sheeple democrats and independents are eyes-wide-open to how this Lawfare nonsense works.  Hence, President Trump climbing in the polling.

“It’s the beginning of the end.” or “The walls are closing in.” or, “__ fill in the blank __.”

Politico – […] The ruling — issued by a panel of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court — means the civil fraud case could remain effectively frozen through the November election. The panel told Trump’s lawyers to prepare his case to be presented at the court’s September term, and any decision on the merits of the appeal could take weeks or months. (More)

Jan 13 2024

Kevin O’Leary Explains to Stunned CNN Audience Why New York Case Against President Trump Is Nonsense


Published originally on the CTH on January 12, 2024 | Sundance

Everything about the case in New York City against the Trump Organization business operations is ridiculous.  There are no victims.  There was no fraud.  All of the lenders did their own due diligence.  All of the loans were paid back without issue, and the statement of financial condition was factual and accurate.  There were no defaults or banking interests adversely impacted. There are no victims of what the State calls “fraud.”

New York Attorney General Latisha James campaigned for office with promises to target the Trump Organization and Donald Trump himself.  This is malicious Lawfare in the extreme.  Additionally, the statute being used as the predicate for the case is a consumer fraud statute, intended to protect borrowers from predatory lenders. In the four corners of this case, Trump is the borrower, and the banks were the lenders.  New York is flipping the statute to claim the borrower defrauded the lenders, despite the lenders denying there was any fraud and there was no harm.   The entire case is ridiculous.

Appearing on CNN, O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary outlines, to a perplexed Laura Coates, why Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York is political nonsense. WATCH (prompted):

https://youtube.com/watch?v=80RZs9Fhz3Y%3Fstart%3D25%26feature%3Doembed

TRANSCRIPT – O’LEARY: Well, let’s leave out Trump for a minute, and let’s leave out politics, and just talk about what happens in real estate development anywhere. So, if you’re a developer and you’ve got a building on the block, anywhere in America, and it’s worth, let’s say, $500 million, and you want to build a building right beside it, you go to the bank and say, “This building is worth $500 million. I’d like to borrow a construction finance loan against this asset, and I want you to tell me it’s worth $500 million too.”

And the bank negotiates with you, and says, “Well no, we think it’s worth $400 million,” and you fight it out. You are always trying to show your assets in the brightest light with the sunshine you can possibly determine for them. You want them to be worth the very most because you’re only going to get a 40 to 50 percent loan to value, as it’s called. Then you borrow that money, in the case of a $500 million asset, maybe you get $250 million, and you build the new building with a construction finance loan. So that’s what this case is all about. 

And by the way, forget about Trump, every single real estate developer everywhere on earth does this. They always talk about their asset being worth a lot and the bank says no. That’s just the way it is. So in this case, what I’m trying to figure out, and I’m not pro or con, or I don’t care about the politics, who lost money? Nobody. The bank got paid back the construction finance loan, and a new building was built. If you’re going to sue this case and win, you’ve gotta sue every real estate developer everywhere. This is all they do. This is what they do all day long every day. So I don’t think this thing will ever survive appeal regardless of what the fine is. This doesn’t even make sense. 

Now look, I understand Trump has a lot of problems in other indictments and everything else, but if you’re a real estate developer, you’re watching this and saying, “What is this? This is ridiculous.”

Dec 1 2023

New York Appeals Court Reinstitutes President Trump Gag Order Without Any Explanation


Posted originally on the CTH on November 30, 2023 | Sundance 

In the New York civil action against Donald Trump, all the banks and lenders did their own due diligence on financing terms with Donald Trump.  All operational loans and Trump Org. business loans were paid back.  There were no defaults or banking interests adversely impacted. There are no victims of what the State calls “fraud,” yet this judge is ruling the Trump organization must dissolve all business interests in the state and exit.

Inside the insufferable nonsense represented by the trial Judge Arthur Engoron, acting on behalf of his partisan political clerk Allison Greenfield, issued a gag order forbidding President Trump from complaining about the political affiliations of the judge, clerk and any other court official or possible witness.   After an interim stay of the gag order by an appellate justice, the New York appeals court has reversed the stay and reinstituted the gag order.

The NY appeals court ruling is AVAILABLE HERE.  You will note in the 2-page ruling they do not explain why the gag order is appropriate, or why the gag order is reinstituted.  The farce continues.

(Via Fox News) – A New York appeals court reinstated a gag order preventing former President Donald Trump from maligning court staffers on Thursday.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron had initially issued the gag order in early October after Trump lashed out at one of his law clerks on social media. Trump is currently fighting accusations of business fraud leveled by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Appeals court Judge David Friedman had issued a stay on Engoron’s gag order on Nov. 16, saying it potentially infringed on Trump’s First Amendment rights.

[…] “They are defending the Worst and Least Respected Attorney General in the United States, Letitia James, who is a Worldwide disgrace, as is her illegal Witch Hunt against me. The Radical and Unprecedented actions of Judge Engoron will keep BUSINESSES and JOBS forever out of New York State,” Trump wrote in a recent social media post. (read more)