In a series of posts to social media over the weekend, former President Donald Trump slammed the New York civil fraud case against him as a judge considers whether he will pay the state hundreds of millions of dollars in damages after he was found guilty of inflating the value of his real estate.
The pending decision from Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron poses a significant risk to Trump’s New York empire, which could ban his business operations in the state and impose a hefty financial penalty of $250 million or more.
Facing another potential financial blow, Trump could be in dire straits as Engoron’s ruling comes on the heels of a separate judgment issued last week in the defamation case brought by author E. Jean Carroll, in which Trump was ordered to pay $83 million in damages.
New York prosecutors in the civil fraud case gave their closing arguments on Jan. 25, and Judge Engoron said he would try to deliver his bench ruling by Wednesday, although there was no set timeline for him to do so as a jury was not seated in the case.
Trump urged the federal court system to intervene in the “witch hunt” — a refrain he repeatedly uses to describe the litany of civil and criminal cases against him — and he defended the activities of the Trump Organization while proclaiming his innocence, saying he never did anything wrong.
“It is a great company that has been slandered and maligned by this politically motivated Witch Hunt. It is very unfair, and I call for help from the highest Courts in New York State, or the Federal System, to intercede. THIS IS NOT AMERICA,” Trump railed.
In other posts to his Truth Social platform, Trump continued to express beef with Engoron, who is overseeing the civil case, but he saved his most bitter attack for New York Attorney General Letitia James, the first Black woman to hold the position, who brought the unprecedented legal action against the former president in January 2022.
Trump called James “corrupt” and alleged that she had “sat comfortably and confidently in court” throughout the trial “with her shoes off, arms folded, a Starbucks coffee, and a BIG smile on her face,” Trump seethed. He added, “JUST LIKE SHE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THE DECISION WILL BE!”
On Engoron, however, Trump was a bit more toned down, saying the judge had been “badly influenced” by the prosecution’s arguments, while he also seemed to imply that he expected Engoron to deliver a ruling in his favor, according to reports.
“Hopefully, Judge Engoron, who should have never taken this NON JURY Trial, or should have dismissed it long ago, will show that the New York State Judicial System is ALIVE, RESPECTED, AND WELL. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote.
The civil charges emerged after Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen — who for years served as Trump’s henchman — admitted to investigators that he was a central figure in illegal business schemes for the Trump Organization.
Last year, Engoron issued a summary ruling that found Trump’s real estate business enriched itself by inflating the value of his New York properties, including his hotels and golf clubs, which defrauded banks and insurers for decades.
Under the Sept. 26 ruling, all of Trump’s New York business licenses were revoked, as well as those of his co-defendants, including his two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and Trump’s longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg.
The toughest penalties for repeated fraud in the state have only been imposed 12 times over seven decades, with Trump’s case being the only major business to face the “worst-case scenario” of being forced to shut down despite no obvious victims of major losses, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
“This is a basically a death penalty for a business,” said Columbia University law professor Eric Talley. “Is he getting his just desserts because of the fraud or because people don’t like him?”
In another legal matter in New York, Trump faces trial on 34 felony charges related to illegal hush money paid to former adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had a sexual encounter that threatened to torpedo his 2016 campaign. He also faces three federal criminal cases related to classified documents and election interference.
