An appeals court in New York appears set to issue a favorable ruling for former President Donald Trump after the state’s Attorney General’s Office controversially applied an anti-fraud law to his real estate practices. The case resulted in a hefty $454 million fine, which now faces potential reduction or reversal.
During Thursday’s hearing, justices from the New York Supreme Court expressed concern about the judgment, with one justice labeling the fine “troubling.”
The New York Post reports:
A panel of New York appeals court judges appeared skeptical about the gargantuan $454 million civil fraud judgment Donald Trump was dealt after he was found liable for business fraud — with one jurist calling it “troubling.”
The former president is attempting to reverse or reduce the judgment of $354 million — plus an additional $100 million in interest — after a judge sided with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who argued in a lawsuit that Trump inflated his net worth by billions to get better loan and insurance terms.
Trump’s lawyers, who have called Judge Arthur Engoron’s February ruling “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional,” appeared before a five-judge panel of a Manhattan appeals court Thursday to plead their case.
Judge Peter Moulton questioned whether James’ lawsuit turned into “something it was not meant to do.”
In a post-verdict interview, Attorney General Letitia James stated that if Trump cannot pay the judgment, her office would pursue asset seizure, including Trump’s iconic properties like the 40 Wall Street skyscraper. “We will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she told ABC News.
Fox News Legal Analyst Johnathan Turley criticized the ruling, calling it “astronomical” and accusing James of engaging in “mob justice” by threatening Trump’s assets.
James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against the former president and his three adult children in September 2022, on the heels of a years-long civil investigation into the Trump family’s real estate business, the Trump Organization.
The investigation centered on whether the former president’s company misled investors and tax authorities by inflating property values to get investments and subsequently deflating them to get tax and loan benefits.
Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing.
This article was originally published on Great American News Desk. It is republished with permission.
