Appeals court stays judge's ruling stripping Trump of NY business certificates
As the New York fraud case against former President Donald Trump continues apace, an appeals court provided him with a significant win on Friday, temporarily blocking Judge Arthur Engoron's prior ruling revoking his business certificates in the state, as Breitbart reports.
Engoron's attempt to strip the Trump Organization of its ability to do business in the Empire State came as part of his partial grant of summary judgment to New York Attorney Letitia James, who brought the case against the former president despite there being no victims or defrauded parties involved.
Eric Trump heralds decision
On Friday afternoon, Eric Trump expressed his family's gratitude for the appeals court's stay on Engoron's ruling in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“We thank the Appellate Division for staying the NY Attorney General's and Judge Engoron's overzealous attempt to cancel our New York business certificates,” Eric Trump began.
He continued, “Judge Engoron's order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000 hard-working New Yorkers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing and were never given their day in court – in clear violation of their fundamental Constitutional rights and Due Process.”
“We will continue to vigorously defend our company and our incredible employees from this politically-motivated persecution,” the former president's son concluded.
“Corporate death penalty”
In the wake of Engoron's initial ruling on the matter, commentators described the situation facing Trump as being akin to a “corporate death penalty” and a “devastating” blow to the president's longstanding business endeavors in the state, as the New York Post explained.
In the words of John Moscow, a former financial crimes prosecutor cited by the outlet, “It means you are no longer a company, and the judge is appointing someone to take over the assets and distribute them as the court sees fit.”
Were the stay allowed to expire and Engoron's ruling permitted to stand, a court-appointed receiver would be tapped to take possession of Trump's New York businesses, which would then be sold off.
Trump would be entitled to the proceeds of those sales, though the funds would first be applied to debts as well as any damages the court says he owes as a result of the litigation's outcome.
Though Trump would still have the ability to manage assets beyond New York, he would lose control over such iconic Big Apple properties as Trump Tower, Trump Park Avenue, Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley and Westchester, and others on Wall Street, Avenue of the Americas, and E. 57th Street.
The stay provided by the appellate court permits Trump to retain control of his properties for the duration of the trial, which is projected to last upwards of three months, but precisely what outcome those proceedings will ultimately yield, only time will tell.
