[ April 30, 2026 ]
Donald Trump and his business were found liable Friday of inflating asset values in paperwork to lenders, but given that nobody lost money, this punishment smacks of political overkill. In a 92-page ruling, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to pay $355 million, while also banning him from being an officer for any New York corporation for three years. (WSJ)
This case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who campaigned for office promising to find Mr. Trump guilty of something. This is choosing a target and then hunting for something to charge him with, which is an abuse of the law. Mr. Trump isn’t guaranteed a jury trial here, the judge says, because of the kind of case it is. But that’s another reason voters are unlikely to hold this judgment against Mr. Trump as he campaigns for the White House.
Mr. Trump denounced the verdict and says he’ll appeal. Meantime, this example of targeted civil prosecution ought to worry fair-minded people regardless of political bent. CEOs might wonder about doing business in a jurisdiction where elected politicians use the law to smash companies this way.
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No victims. All loans were repaid. The supposed victim banks testified in defense of Trump.
The ugly face of corrupt jurisprudence pic.twitter.com/xoVQ02pS36
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) February 16, 2024
NY Judge Engoron has ordered Trump to pay $364 Million to NY state in the case brought against him by AG Letitia James.
This case had 0 victims and the banks that Trump supposedly defrauded testified in defense of Trump Hotels.
Letitia James promised to go after Trump.
The… pic.twitter.com/cga65v3bpb
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 16, 2024
Trump: "He ruled against me before he even got the case."
Former President Donald Trump rips apart Judge Engoron after his NY civil fraud verdict. pic.twitter.com/R5pZOzpCWc
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 16, 2024
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In light of this absurd civil verdict, pls see this video (@CollinRugg) of Kevin O’Leary.
He explains, to CNN of all platforms:
No one lost money!
Trump did what EVERY real estate developer does.
The witch hunt continues!pic.twitter.com/O2RPUxqErQ
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) February 16, 2024
Every facet of the legal offensive against Trump is utterly unprecedented in American history.
Nothing like today's ruling in New York, imposing a $354 million fine and banning Trump from all business in New York, has ever happened before. New York's law allowing for the total…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 16, 2024
This communist “judge” sat in judgment of Donald Trump, his family and his business.
All of our institutions are irredeemably corrupt.
We must take our country back. Or live under the tyranny of dangerous clowns like this. pic.twitter.com/RvwR0l7fgg
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) February 16, 2024
Trump Jr. to Newsmax: N.Y. Ruling ‘Absolute Insanity, Disgusting’
By Michael Katz, Newsmax, 16 February 2024:
Donald Trump Jr. told Newsmax on Friday the $363.8 million penalty issued by a New York judge in a civil fraud case regarding his father, his brother Eric Trump, himself and The Trump Organization is “absolute insanity” and “absolutely despicable.”
Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a 2½-month trial to determine how much of a penalty the Trumps and their business would face. Engoron issued a pre-trial summary judgment in the $250 million civil lawsuit brought by Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James that Trump committed fraud in overvaluing his assets to earn favorable loan deals.
Engoron also fined Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the executive vice presidents of The Trump Organization, each $4,013,024.
ADVERTISEMENT“The reality is, what we complain about in Russia is happening right here in the United States of America,” Trump Jr. told “Eric Bolling The Balance.” “The facts of the law don’t matter. Your party affiliation and where you live is going to be the determining factor from now on in our courts of law.
“They’ve shown that now, time and time again, and it’s absolutely disgusting.”
The former president’s legal team said it was going to appeal even before Friday’s ruling because of Engoron’s pre-trial summary judgment. The legal team argued that most of the claims in James’ lawsuit should have been dismissed for falling outside the statute of limitations.
“It’s still New York, right?” Trump Jr. said. “So, you never know. You’ve got to remember that half of the [fine] that you’re talking about … was already ruled inadmissible because of statute of limitations in the [state] court of appeals.
“The court of appeals has already ruled that, and this judge simply decided to ignore that because, again, it’s not about the law. It’s not about the facts. It’s about penalizing Trump, trying to hurt Joe Biden’s No. 1 political rival.
“That couldn’t be more clear. Imagine, just ignoring the appellate division that’s already ruled on these things.
“They’re just like, You know what? I’m going to pretend like they don’t matter. … It’s just absolute insanity.”
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