Donald Trump scored another judicial victory Thursday when a New York appeals court overturned the ruling that required the U.S. president and his family to pay $454 million in a civil fraud case.
Judge Arthur Engoron had determined that the Republican magnate had fraudulently exaggerated the value of his properties and other assets to bolster his family business. The announcement of the ruling in February 2024, in addition to imposing the fine, had limited the Trump Organization’s ability to borrow money. It also prevented Trump’s eldest sons, Eric and Donald Junior, from managing the family business for two years.
The decision by a five-judge panel of the Manhattan Appeals Division is a defeat for New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the civil fraud lawsuit against Trump in 2022. The attorney general’s office has already announced that it will appeal the new court decision.
The appeals court upheld the original court ruling, which found Trump, his adult children, and his company liable for fraud over a period of a decade. However, it deemed the $454 million fine excessive, arguing that it violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That clause prohibits the government from imposing excessive fines and bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.
“The trial record is replete with evidence supporting the court’s finding that the defendants intended to defraud, a necessary element in every criminal law claim,” the court said.
The U.S. president reacted with jubilation on social media. “TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” he wrote in a long message on Truth, his platform, in which he described the case against him as a “political witch hunt,” ignoring the fact that the higher court also insisted in its ruling Thursday that the decision to find him liable for fraud was correct.
“I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there […] This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT,” Trump added.
The Trump administration has had James in its sights. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice, headed by Pam Bondi, announced the opening of an investigation to determine whether the New York attorney general had violated the president’s civil rights in the case she filed against him.
James had sued Trump and his children for fraudulently exaggerating their net worth to deceive lenders. The then-Republican presidential candidate was ordered to pay a $355 million fine in February 2024, although that penalty has been rising as interest has accumulated.
James has been one of Trump’s biggest opponents since she first ran for the office of attorney general in 2018. In December 2021, with the intention of halting the fraud investigation, he filed a lawsuit against her. At the time, James had announced her candidacy for governor of New York for the Democratic Party, although she withdrew shortly after.
In his message on Truth Thursday, Trump once again lashed out at the prosecutor, whom he considers his sworn enemy and who he accuses of being “corrupt” and “incompetent.” “[James] only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically,” he wrote.
The president also used his message to launch a scathing attack on Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial for hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign to buy her silence over an alleged extra-marital affair. A jury found the tycoon guilty on 34 counts of altering accounting records.
According to Trump, all the legal cases brought against him were politically motivated to destroy his viability as a presidential candidate before, “during, and after the election.” He also claims, without evidence, that all of them were “solidly coordinated with the campaign of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
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