A New York appeals court has thrown out a $500 million civil fraud fine against Donald Trump—but has kept him liable for cooking the books to build his real estate empire.
In a victory for the president, the court decided that Trump will no longer have to pay the hefty fine that was handed to him last year after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued him for grossly inflating the value of his assets for financial gain.
But the 300-plus page opinion, which was not unanimous, also left Trump liable for the fraud itself, paving the way for further court battles if the President wants to clear his name entirely.
Former US President Donald Trump arrives back from a break at New York Supreme Court during his civil fraud trial on November 6, 2023 in New York City.
Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images
Despite this, Trump responded to the news with a post claiming “TOTAL VICTORY” and describing the case as a political witch-hunt.
Trump was fined by Judge Arthur Engoron in February last year, in what was one of many court cases against him at the time.
But this particular lawsuit enraged the president because it went to the heart of the reputation he spent years crafting, personally and politically, as a successful businessman.
Trump claimed at the time that he never committed fraud and that there was no “crime” because the banks made money on his investments.
However, according to the judgment, Trump and his co-defendants—who included his sons Don Jr and Eric—engaged in frauds that “leap off the page and shock the conscience.”
In one example, he valued his Mar-a-Lago estate as a personal residence rather than a social club for financial gain; in another, he wrongly claimed that his penthouse was three times its actual size
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again,” Engoron wrote.
The president came to office vowing retribution against James for pursuing him in the courts.
Earlier this month, his Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into James, accusing her of “deprivation of rights,” a crime that involves a government official violating someone’s constitutional rights in an official capacity.
James’ office described the DOJ probe as “weaponization of the justice system”, a term that Trump, who was criminally indicted four times before becoming president, regularly used against Democrats.
But the probe was not the first criminal investigation the administration has opened against James.
In May, the DOJ launched a probe into allegations that James committed fraud by lying on loan and bank documents to obtain better mortgage rates.
At the time, James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, slammed the investigation as an act of “improper political retaliation … publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump.”
It is widely expected that James will appeal the split verdict issued on Thursday by the New York Appellate Division.
Engoron’s original fine against Trump was for $364 million plus interest dating back years; a total that has since blown out to about $527 million.
“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,” the president posted on Thursday.
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