Appeals court hears arguments over Trump’s $454m civil fraud judgment
“Ex-president’s defense claims New York attorney general wanted to punish his ‘highly successful’ Wall Street dealings
Donald Trump’s legal team and state prosecutors will go head-to-head in a New York appeals court on Thursday over his ongoing effort to throw out an approximately $450m civil fraud judgment against him.
The former US president is disputing Manhattan supreme court judge Arthur Engoron’s 16 February decision after finding that Trump lied to financial institutions and insurers about his wealth. Trump’s case was litigated during a months-long civil trial in Manhattan in fall 2023.
His defense claimed in July appeals papers that New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, wanted to punish “highly successful” dealings between him and “highly sophisticated” Wall Street institutions, which “left all parties deeply satisfied and had no impact on the public interest”.
Trump’s lawyers also railed that the case was an “unauthorized, unprecedented power-grab” and should have been tossed, arguing James’s claims extended beyond the statute of limitations. They also turned to a well-worn page in their playbook – accusing James, a Democrat, of targeting Trump for partisan purposes.
If upheld, the decision would give James “limitless power to target anyone she desires, including her self-described political opponents”, they said in court papers. “Based on the ruling in this case, no company will want to come to New York to do business, and many businesses are fleeing.”
In their response to Trump’s appeal, James’s office reiterated that his namesake company and its top executives plotted to boost his net worth by as much as $2.2bn annually, using puffed-up financial statements to secure plum deals with banks and insurance companies.
“Through their misconduct, defendants derived significant economic benefits they otherwise could not have obtained, including over $360 million in illegal profits,” James’s office said in court filings.
Trump’s battle against this civil judgment comes as he fights legal woes on a variety of fronts. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 26 November after being found guilty on 34 felony counts in his Manhattan hush-money case.
Special counsel Jack Smith, meanwhile, brought a revised indictment against Trump in his Washington DC federal court election subversion case. Smith is poised to present more evidence to the judge by Thursday as she decides how presidential immunity might affect the proceedings.“
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