The legal team representing former President Trump has filed an appeal against New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision, which found Trump liable for over $350 million in damages in the civil fraud case filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Including interest, the current sum for which Trump is accountable exceeds $354 million, with post-judgment interest accumulating at a rate of nearly $112,000 per day, Fox News reported.
James, who ran on a ticket to ‘get Trump,’ also targeted Trump’s family and the Trump Organization. Engoron ruled that Trump and the 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.”
Engoron was also critical of Trump’s behavior during the 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’s lead attorney in the case, Christopher Kise, strongly hinted at an appeal when reacting to Engoron’s ruling earlier this month, 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 added. “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.”
Trump attorney and spokeswoman Alina Habba also pointedly noted after the ruling that her client planned a vigorous appeal, but they are dealing with New York courts and it’s not at all clear the former president will ultimately be successful in getting the ruling reversed or the fine reduced.
