A New York appeals court has thrown out the roughly half-billion dollar judgment against President Donald Trump in the civil fraud case brought by the state’s attorney general.
Thursday’s decision, which was not unanimous, leaves Trump still liable for fraud. The judges aligned to uphold his liability and toss the penalty so the case could move forward for further appellate review.
In the prevailing opinion, the judges wrote, “While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said the “mon