Testimony of a key witness in the civil fraud case brought by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, against President Trump may complicate the judge’s decision, according to an email from the judge made public on Tuesday. At a minimum, the controversy swirling around the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, will delay the judge’s decision in the case, which had been expected any day.

“I do not want to ignore anything in a case of this magnitude,” the judge, Arthur Engoron, said in the email to all attorneys, defense and state, alerting them that the level of importance of the issue was “high.” 

In his email, Judge Engoron referred to a report by the New York Times on February 1 that claimed Weisselberg is in plea-bargain negotiations with Manhattan’s district attorney Alvin Bragg.

According to “people with knowledge of the matter,” the Times relied on, Weisselberg “would have to admit that he lied on the witness stand in Mr. Trump’s recent civil fraud trial.” 

Weisselberg has been under pressure from the Manhattan district attorney to flip on Mr. Trump and testify against him in the criminal case involving a porn star, Stormy Daniels. Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty in 2022 to orchestrating a Trump Organization scheme to evade taxes on various luxuries such as town cars and private school tuition, and served 100 days on Rikers Island. As part of his plea agreement in that case, he agreed to testify in Ms. James’s civil fraud trial. Now, sources of the New York Times have disclosed that Weisselberg may have lied in this testimony.

In calling for clarity on the potential charges against Weisselberg, Judge Engoron was highlighting the importance of his testimony to the attorney general’s case.

“As the presiding magistrate, the trier of fact, and the judge of credibility,” Judge Engoron noted, “I of course want to know whether Weisselberg is now changing his tune, and whether he is admitting he lied under oath in my courtroom at this trial.”   

Ms. James sued Mr. Trump, his two adult sons, former executives of the Trump Organization, including Weisselberg, and several of Mr. Trump’s companies for business fraud. She alleges that the Trumps engaged in a decades-long scheme of falsifying financial statements and inflating asset values in order to gain favorable bank loans and insurance policies. The Trumps have denied all wrongdoing. 

In a pre-trial decision, Judge Engoron found the Trumps liable for fraud. The trial that followed sought to decide further allegations and to determine the damages. Ms. James has asked for more than $370 million.          

Weisselberg, who was employed by Mr. Trump for nearly 50 years, was one of more than 40 witnesses who testified during the two-and-a-half-month-long trial. It is uncertain which part of his testimony caught the attention of Mr. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who has indicted Mr. Trump in the Stormy Daniels case.   

Mr. Bragg charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts last April, for falsifying business records in connection with an alleged hush-money payment to the porn actor, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. Mr. Trump denies the charges. The case is expected to go to trial at the end of March. 

The Times reported that Mr. Bragg identified a possible lie in Weisselberg’s testimony about Mr. Trump’s penthouse at Trump Tower. Financial statements described the apartment as three times larger than its actual size. But Weisselberg told the court that the size of the apartment was irrelevant in the scope of Mr. Trump’s overall wealth.  

“I never even thought about the apartment.” Weisselberg testified in October 2023. “It was not something that was that important to me when looking at a $6 billion, $5 billion net worth.” 

Weisselberg further testified that he learned about the size discrepancy of the penthouse from a reporter who was researching an article for Forbes in 2016. He said he “did not recall” if he instructed anyone to confirm the square footage. 

“You don’t recall if you did anything to confirm who was right?” an attorney for the state, Louis Solomon, asked him. Weisselberg answered that he did not. 

While Weisselberg was still on the witness, Forbes published an article on October 12 titled, “Trump’s Longtime CFO Lied, Under Oath, About Trump Tower Penthouse,” writing that emails proved communications between Weisselberg and Forbes regarding the penthouse size had in fact taken place.  

“Although the Times article focuses on the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, his testimony on other topics could also be called into question. I also may use this as a basis to invoke falsus in uno,” Judge Engoron wrote in his email, using a Latin term that means false in one thing, false in everything.  

Judge Engoron asked the attorneys to submit any information they may have “about this that would not violate any of your professional ethics or obligations.” He added, “I would also appreciate knowing how you think I should address this matter, if at all, including the timing of the final decision.” 

Weisselberg is on probation after his brief stint on Rikers Island, and a new charge could put him behind bars again. 

The deadline for the attorneys to submit their answers to Judge Engoron is Wednesday by 5 p.m.