NEW YORK — After winning victories in other lawsuits, Donald Trump pressured a New York appeals court on Monday to Nearly $500 Million New York Civil Fraud Verdict that threatens to deplete his personal financial reserves as he campaigns to retake the White House.
In documents filed with the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals, the former president’s lawyers said Manhattan District Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 finding that Trump lied to banks, insurance companies and others about his wealth was “wrong” and “scandalous.”
Trump’s arguments in his appeal echoed many of his complaints about the case, which he voiced to TV cameras outside the courtroom during the trial.
His lawyers argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit should have been dismissed immediately, that the statute of limitations prevented some claims from being filed, and that no one had been harmed by Trump’s alleged fraud.
They also complained that if Engoron’s decision were upheld, James, a Democrat, would have “unrestricted power to target anyone she wants, including her self-proclaimed political opponents,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a 116-page filing in the state court’s Appellate Division.
Trump placed a $175 million bond in April to stop the collection of the judgment and prevent James’ office from seizing his assets while he appeals. If he wins, he will not have to pay the state anything and will get back the money he has now deposited.
The appeals court has said it will hear oral arguments in late September. Trump’s lawyers filed the appeal days after Engoron’s ruling and had until Monday to file written arguments.
According to James’ office, Trump and his lawyers are making baseless arguments.
“We won this case based on the facts and the law, and we are confident we will prevail on appeal,” James’ office said in a statement.
Monday’s appeal is the latest development in a major legal and political battle for Trump, who accepted the Republican presidential nomination last week just days after he was injured in a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One attendee was killed and two others wounded.
On July 1, the Supreme Court sided with Trump and ruled that former presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts performed in the exercise of officefurther delaying his election interference case in Washington, DC, and pushing back his sentencing in his hush-money criminal case in New York until September 18 as his lawyers fight to overturn that conviction.
On July 15, a federal judge in Florida Trump’s Secret Documents Rejected case, which found that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who filed the charges, was improperly appointed by the Justice Department. Smith is appealing.
In the civil fraud case, Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives — including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. — schemed for years to inflate his fortune using financial statements used to secure loans and close deals.
In addition to the hefty fine, the judge imposed strict restrictions on Trump’s company’s ability to do business. Among other things, Engoron placed the Trump Organization under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor for at least three years.
Trump’s appeal ensures that the legal battle over Trump’s business practices will continue into the fall and beyond.
If Engoron’s ruling is upheld, Trump will be forced to resign from office. significant portion of his fortune. The judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in fines, but with interest, the total has grown to more than $470 million — including $16.8 million that has accrued since the verdict. The amount will grow by nearly $112,000 a day until he pays, unless the verdict is overturned.
Trump claims he is worth billions of dollars and testified last year that he had about $400 million in cash, along with properties and other investments. James, a Democrat, has said that if Trump can’t pay up, she will seek to seize some of his assets.
Trump and his lawyers laid the groundwork for their months of appeal by regularly objecting to Engoron’s handling of the trial. Trump called Engoron’s decision “election interference” and “using weapons against a political opponent.” He complained that he was being punished because he had “built a perfect company, great money, great buildings, great everything.”
During the trial, Trump’s lawyers said: accused Engoron of “palpable and overwhelming” biasThey have also taken issue with the legal mechanics of James’ lawsuit. Trump claims the law under which she sued him is a consumer protection law normally used to rein in companies that rip off customers.
Trump’s lawyers have gone to the appellate division at least a dozen times to challenge Engoron’s previous rulings, including during the trial in a failed attempt to overturn a gag order and $15,000 in fines for violations after Trump posted a derogatory and false post on social media about an important court employee.
Trump’s lawyers have long argued that some of the allegations are time-barred. They argue that Engoron failed to comply with an Appellate Division ruling last year that narrowed the scope of the lawsuit to throw out outdated allegations.
The Appellate Division can uphold Engoron’s sentence, reduce or modify the sentence, or vacate the decision entirely. If Trump is unsuccessful in the Appellate Division, he can ask the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, to consider his case.