In a high-stakes legal battle, former President Donald Trump’s attorneys are contesting a $454 million civil fraud judgment, which they argue would have severe repercussions on business operations within New York.
The Hill reported that this move comes after a New York State judge ruled that Trump had inflated his net worth on financial statements to secure tax and insurance benefits. This judgment directly impacts Trump's finances and extends to his family’s business empire.
The trial revealed that Trump, along with the Trump Organization and its top executives, including Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, engaged in practices that were deemed fraudulent before the commencement of the actual trial proceedings.
As a consequence of these findings, Trump is now prohibited from holding top executive roles in any New York-based company for three years. His lawyers assert that these sanctions set a dangerous precedent for both current and future business endeavors in the state.
During the appeals process initiated on Monday, Trump’s defense team highlighted several key points to counter the original findings.
They claimed the enforcement actions by New York Attorney General Letitia James were excessively harsh and lacked sufficient evidence of intentional fraud.
They notably emphasized that no banks accused Trump of fraud after conducting their due diligence, stating no victims or losses occurred as a result of the dealings.
Chris Kise, Trump's attorney, painted a vivid picture of Trump as a persecuted figure, a "visionary and iconic real estate titan" wrongly targeted in a politically motivated crusade led by the Attorney General.
In court documents, the defense described the judgment as “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional,” and suggested that the strictures it imposes could drive businesses away from New York.
They fear the implications of this case could redefine the regulatory landscape to the detriment of the business community.
Responding to the appeal, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office expressed strong confidence in the solidity of the case against Trump, underpinning their argument with the robustness of the facts and legal precedents established during the trial.
Over its 44-day duration, representatives from the attorney general contended repeatedly that the alleged fraudulent activities were substantiated sufficiently by evidence, despite claims to the contrary from Trump’s legal team.
They further asserted that Trump's ongoing legal defenses recycle previously sanctioned and penalized arguments, emphasizing the consistency of the lower court's findings against the former president and his associates.
This firm stance highlights a decisive approach to uphold the initial ruling and resist the arguments presented during Trump’s appeal.
Former President Donald Trump is appealing the conviction against him but that hasn't stopped him from also trying to get the initial ruling overturned in light of recent Supreme Court decisions.
His case against Letitia James is strong as the partisan nature of the prosecution against him was clear from the beginning. The only reason Trump was convicted was because of a jury pulled from the most leftist city in the nation and a Judge who had direct ties to Democrats.
If Trump can get his case in front of an unbiased court, which is a long-shot, Trump won't have to go through the appeals process and can crush this case outright.