The case brought against Former President Donald Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James handed down a gauntlet of a ruling on Friday. New York Judge Arthur Engoron handed down his ruling Friday after a months-long trial stemming from James’ lawsuit alleging the former president inflated his assets and committed fraud. Ultimately, Trump was barred from operating his own business in New York for three years and was found liable for more than $350 million in damages in the civil fraud case against him, his family and the Trump Organization.
In his 92-page ruling, Engoron stated that Trump and defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”
Fox News reports The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years. Engoron also “permanently” barred defendants Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and the former corporate controller Jeffrey McConney from “serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State,” and as a director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years.
After the ruling, Donald Trump Jr posted on X: “we’ve reached the point where your political beliefs combined with what venue your case is heard are the primary determinants of the outcome; not the facts of the case! It’s truly sad what’s happened to our country and I hope others see it before it’s too late to correct course!”
Engoron alluded to many personal issues with the former president as opposed to prioritizing facts. The judge criticized Trump and his testimony during trial, saying that he “rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.”
“His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility,” Engoron wrote.
Trump attorney Christopher Kise slammed the decision saying the court “ignored the law, ignored the facts, and simply signed off on the Attorney General’s manifestly unjust political crusade against the front-running candidate for President of the United States.”
“Legal cases are supposed to be decided based on the application of established legal principles to the actual evidence,” Kise said. “During 44 days of trial, not one witness, not one complaint, and not one victim supported the Attorney General’s manufactured claims of ‘fraud.’ Moreover, the evidence established President Trump’s net worth far exceeded what was reported in his financial statements.”
Kise said “even the bankers actually involved in the loans testified there was nothing misleading, there was no fraud, and the transactions were all highly profitable.”
“But the Court blatantly refused to follow a binding Appellate Division decision, ignored and twisted the evidence, and imposed a draconian and unconstitutional fine and a corporate ‘death penalty’ on President Trump, his family, and the extraordinary global business empire he developed over a lifetime of hard work and achievement,” Kise continued. “Hard to imagine a more unfair process and hard to believe this is happening in America.”
Kise added: “Make no mistake, the sobering future consequences of this tyrannical abuse of power do not just impact President Trump.”