Donald Trump was sentenced on Friday to pay a multimillion-dollar fine of $350 million for the civil fraud case in New York led by prosecutor Letitia James. In turn, Judge Arthur Engoron prohibited the former president from doing business in the Big Apple for the next three years. True to his style, the Republican did not take long to respond to the sentence.
Exclusively on Fox News Digital, Trump targeted the judge and the state attorney general and promised to appeal immediately, later describing the case as a “witch hunt.”
“A crooked New York judge working with the very corrupt attorney general of New York State, who ran on the basis of ‘I will get Trump’ before knowing me — before even knowing anything about me — just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355 million based on absolutely nothing. No victims. No damages. Great financial statements, with full disclaimer clauses, only success,” he said.
🚨 #BREAKING | Donald Trump reacts to NY fraud ruling:
"It all comes down to Biden. It's a witch hunt against his political opponent the likes of which our country has never seen before. You see it in third world countries... banana republics." pic.twitter.com/ba09toBTDV
— VOZ (@Voz_US) February 16, 2024
The former president noted that “banks and insurance companies were thrilled — they made nothing but money. No defaults, no nothing at a time when many banks are losing money.”
“This is a witch hunt where the judge ruled against me before he even saw the case,” said the Republican, who is currently leading the party’s polls to become the next presidential nominee.
“It all comes down to Biden”
Trump spoke hours later from his Mar-A-Lago residence, where he expanded somewhat on his rhetoric on Fox News Digital.
“It all comes down to Biden. It’s a witch hunt against his political opponent, the likes of which our country has never seen before. You see it in third world countries... banana republics,” he added.
James’ lawsuit against Trump
The text presented at the time by the New York attorney general was more than 200 pages long and alleged that Trump’s companies were plagued by fraud, as well as that the Trump Organization had deceived tax officials, lenders and insurers by inflating property values through misleading appraisals.
“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation ... were committed in every annual return by senior management of the Trump Organization. … And they were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization, including Mr. Trump himself,” the document reads.
Trump’s lawyers repeated during the trial that the banks that worked with the Trump Organization at the time did the corresponding investigations and found no evidence of exaggeration of assets.
“Errors or misstatements happen all the time in accounting; if there are no indicia of fraud such as concealment, forgery, or deceit, then there is no basis to determine that these SFCs are fraudulent, and any misstatements are just accidental errors,” they noted in a statement.
The sentence against Trump comes after a three-month trial where it was determined that the Republican leader inflated his net worth by billions to deceive banks and insurers over a decade.
The former president’s defense already announced this Friday that the former president will appeal the decision. However, experts agree that it will be tough to reverse the ruling. If he is unsuccessful with the appeal, various media reported that he could be stripped of control over the Trump Tower in Midtown and his other emblematic properties in New York.
In addition to the former president, Judge Engoron also disqualified Trump’s two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, from being able to operate businesses in New York for two years. He even ordered them to pay $4 million in fines.
