| The Manhattan real estate empire that brought Donald Trump fortune and fame is imperilled by a sweeping judgment in a fraud case against the former president, who could ultimately be forced to dispose of prized properties including his midtown Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
He had earlier accused Judge Engoron in a statement of trying to “seize control of private property” in an “outrageous decision”, and vowed to appeal.The immediate import of the decision remained unclear, however, after Judge Engoron declined to elaborate on how it would be enforced. The office of New York’s attorney-general, who brought the case, did not respond to requests for comment on the legal consequences for Trump businesses, or issue any statement beyond welcoming the judge’s order.
Adam Leitman Bailey, a New York real estate lawyer, predicted Mr Trump’s legal team would be granted a stay that delays implementation of the ruling. “The order that the judge wrote just doesn’t work,” he said. Judge Engoron’s ruling delivered a blow to a central pillar of Mr Trump’s popular mythology – namely that he built a sprawling portfolio of highly valuable properties over several decades by business savvy alone.