AlterNet
President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump are both wrongly declaring “total victory” after a New York appeals court tossed out an approximately $500 million judgment but left in place the ruling in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case that the Trumps did commit fraud.
“Thursday’s decision, which was not unanimous, leaves Trump still liable for fraud,” CNN reports. “The judges aligned to uphold his liability and toss the penalty so the case could move forward for further appellate review.”
In Thursday’s ruling, the judges wrote that the “nearly half a billion dollars” penalty “is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
The New York Times reported that “the decision fell short of the full vindication the president had been seeking in his fight against Ms. James. In denying Mr. Trump’s bid to throw out the case, the court kept in place the ruling that he had committed fraud, an ignominious distinction for a sitting American president.”
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But the judges also ruled that they “agree with Supreme Court that the Attorney General acted well within her lawful power in bringing this action, and that she vindicated a public interest in doing so.”
In his February 2024 ruling, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron “lambasted Trump’s continuous use of ‘blatantly false financial data’ while doing business at the Trump Organization,” Courthouse News reports. “Struck by Trump’s ‘complete lack of contrition and remorse,’ the judge ordered Trump to pay about $355 in penalties, a sum that has since ballooned up to nearly $500 million with interest.”
“The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience,” Engoron wrote.
Eric Trump, however, provided a different interpretation.
“Total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!! After 5 years of hell, justice prevailed!” he wrote on social media.
Attorney Seth Abramson, a best-selling Trump biographer, mocked Eric Trump’s remarks.
“TOTAL VICTORY! FRAUD FINDING VACATED! Oh, wait… …the Fraud finding WASN’T vacated?” he snarked. “So the Trump Family was CONFIRMED to have committed Fraud? How is that a ‘total victory’? Wouldn’t that suggest Eric Trump thinks Fraud is okay, and being *fined* for it is the only problem?”
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President Trump also declared “total victory.”
“TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” he wrote on his Truth Social website. “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.”
He called the case election interference, and falsely claimed, “everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT.”
Donald Trump Jr. declared Thursday’s ruling a “Massive Win!!!”
“It was always a witch hunt, election interference, and a total miscarriage of justice… and even a left leaning NY appeals court agrees! NO MORE LAWFARE!” he wrote.
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