Will Donald Trump face justice? Judge may deliver verdict on New York fraud case by Friday

A verdict is expected by Friday in the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his company in New York, according to NBC News on Tuesday.

The NBC News’ source, who has direct knowledge of the situation, said that barring any unexpected delays, State Judge Arthur Engoron will announce his decision on Friday. The New York Times had earlier reported the same target date.

Engoron had initially hoped to deliver his ruling by Jan. 31, but the state court system spokesman said earlier this month that it would likely take until “early to mid-February.”

Engoron rules Trump committed fraud, seeks $370M in damages
The trial, which began on Oct. 2, has drawn much attention as it featured the testimony of Trump and his three eldest children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. The case was brought by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which accused Trump and his top executives of repeatedly inflating their financial statements to defraud investors and lenders.

Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his company committed fraud, but he still has to determine whether they did so intentionally and what penalties they should face.

James is seeking $370 million in damages and a ban on Trump from doing any more business in the New York real estate sector, where he built his reputation, among other sanctions.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the case was a political “fraud on me.”

The expected verdict will come at the end of a hectic week of court appearances for Trump. On Monday, he attended a secret hearing about classified information in a federal criminal case that charges him with mishandling national security secrets. On Thursday, he is scheduled to appear in a New York criminal court for a pretrial hearing in a case that alleges he falsified business records related to hush money payments.

Also on Thursday, there is a hearing in Georgia where Trump and his co-defendants are trying to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting them for election interference and racketeering. That hearing is expected to spill over into Friday.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all three criminal cases.