Big Win for Trump: Appeals Court Dismisses Major Fraud Fine
- A New York appeals court has cancelled a civil fraud penalty over $500 million directed at President Trump.
- The court called the fine “excessive” and a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
- Attorney General Letitia James intends to challenge this decision at the state’s highest court.
- Notably, the ruling upheld other penalties against Trump and his organization.
On Thursday, a New York state appeals court announced a significant decision: unrolling a monumental civil fraud penalty of over half a billion dollars imposed on President Donald Trump and his company, following a lawsuit from Attorney General Letitia James.
The court emphasized that the steep penalty, which demanded Trump and others to pay the State of New York, was an excessive fine breaching the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, it’s important to note that the same court confirmed a previous ruling by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge, which stated that Trump and his associates did commit business fraud. It preserved various non-monetary penalties aimed at regulating their business practices, noting they were “well-crafted to address defendants’ business culture.”
This decision is set to be appealed by James to the New York Court of Appeals, as expressed by her in a prompt statement following the ruling. “The First Department upheld the trial court’s strong findings: Donald Trump, his enterprise, and two of his children are indeed liable for fraud,” she reported.
Interestingly, the ruling presented a divided opinion: one judge, David Friedman, advocated for a total dismissal of James’s lawsuit. In contrast, Judge Peter Moulton pointed out that while some harm happened, it wasn’t staggering enough to warrant such a hefty award against the state.
Moulton suggested that James couldn’t sufficiently prove the exact profits linked to the defendants’ violations and described the fraud calculations as lacking reasonable approximation.
President Trump reacted enthusiastically to the court’s decision on Truth Social, labeling it a “TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” He expressed gratitude for the court’s bravery in overturning what he deemed an unlawful and scandalous decision affecting businesses throughout New York.
Trump mentioned, “The fine, along with interest and penalties, exceeded $550 million. This was nothing less than a political witch hunt unlike anything seen before.”
Echoing his father’s sentiments, Eric Trump, one of the lawsuit defendants, praised the ruling as a “total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!!”. In a post shared on social media, he celebrated the outcome after what he described as five harrowing years.
In the wake of the ruling, Attorney General James reaffirmed her commitment to pursuing an appeal, stating, “It should not go unnoticed: another court supports the notion that the president violated the law, and that our case holds merit.”
In February 2024, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron had mandated Trump to pay around $454 million in penalties after finding him liable for varying fraud related to his financial statements signed between 2014 and 2021, which overstated his assets by an estimated $812 million to $2.2 billion. With interest accounted, the financial consequence for Trump and his co-defendants surged beyond $500 million.
