Trump New York Trial Updates

So the Trump justice system turns. First on the civil side:

Trump wins partial stay of fraud judgment, allowed to post $175 million

Although the appeals court gave no reasoning for its decision, Adam Pollock, an attorney who formerly served as assistant attorney general in New York, said the decision could indicate that it might consider permanently reducing the judgment against Trump on appeal.

In addition to reducing the amount Trump must put up for his appeal bond, the panel also said it would stay other parts of Engoron’s decision. Among other things, the panel said it would block Engoron’s decree that Trump be prohibited from getting loans from any New York financial institution for three years, and his order that Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, be barred from serving in a top position at a New York corporation for two years. The panel said it declined to block some of Engoron’s other moves, including his directive installing an independent director of compliance.

We had continual updates that I can fairly say "hyped" or whatever Trump running out of time to pay the full bond. The bond was not uniquely large. Since the order is unexplained, it is unclear why it was warranted. 

He has ten days to pay that bond and as of now seems to plan to do so. Meanwhile, an April 15th day is set for the criminal trial. The linked article references the "hush money" case. This is a Trump-favoring spin that limits its breadth:

“The core is not money for sex,” Bragg told a local NPR affiliate late last year. “We would say it’s about conspiring to corrupt a presidential election and then lying in New York business records to cover it up.” 

The two cases are more connected than most civil and criminal cases since the New York case involves financial crimes. This tidbit also caught my eye as relevant: 

“If Donald Trump just paid his own debts, he could’ve pretty easily avoided criminal behavior,” said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog.

The link provides more detail on the convoluted nature of Trump's crimes. The trial judge is not favorable:

Both federal and state judges have found Bragg’s core theory of the case plausible: that Trump’s circuitous scheme for hiding the payments broke New York’s falsification of business records law, as well as federal and state election laws. Justice Merchan’s recent rulings make clear that he views the heart of the case as about much more than simply inaccurate paperwork, and he has given prosecutors wide latitude to tell jurors about the many scandals Trump’s campaign sought to smother when he allegedly designed the payoff system– including the “Access Hollywood” tape to the “catch-and-kill” scheme to quash former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s allegations. 

The civil judgment led someone to again set forth the "courts won't save us" and we have to win at the ballot box. Again, the ballot box always remained essential. Few thought the courts would "save us." They did hope that the courts would help us. Maybe, they still are in a limited way. 

We also have reason to expect that the courts are an overall part of our system. One of three branches of government. Courts played an important role after the 2020 elections in rejecting Trump's specious lawsuits. Helping him now might have lower stakes. But, it remains dubious. 

Trump all his professional life was about having the rules bind him and using other people's money. Both of these trials are important to address that. Meanwhile, you can continue to early vote, voting against Trump even if you are a Republican. Give Nikki Haley et. al. some love!