- New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron set a deadline 5 p.m. Wednesday for lawyers in Trump’s civil fraud case to respond to accusations a witness committed perjury.
- The witness, Allen Weisselberg, has already been jailed for failing to declare benefits as Trump’s former chief financial officer.
The New York judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial ordered lawyers from the state attorney general’s office and Trump’s defense team to explain by Wednesday what they know about a witness in the case reportedly negotiating a plea deal for lying under oath.
Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron is in the midst of deciding the damages Trump and his namesake real estate company should pay, after already ruling they committed repeated fraud in exaggerating property values when applying for loans. Engoron had said he would rule by Jan. 31, but postponed the decision until mid-February.
The New York Times reported Friday that Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was negotiating with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office over a potential plea bargain for perjury in this case.
On Monday, in a note to lawyers published in the court docket Tuesday, Engoron asked lawyers for both sides in the case to submit letters “detailing to me anything you know about this that would not violate any of your professional ethics or obligations.” Engoron said in deciding the case he must know whether Weisselberg was credible as a witness.
“As the…
