Donald Trump has condemned New York for being “corrupt” and “letting the migrants come in and take over” after being fined $355 million in a civil fraud judgment.
Judge Arthur Engoron announced the ruling on Friday, which also bans the former president from being a director of a New York firm for three years.
Speaking outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, the 77-year-old took a swipe at Engoron and Attorney General Letitia James.
The former president said, “I paid about $300 million in taxes when the migrants came in and took over New York, and they wanted me out.
‘These are radical left Democrats, they are crazy. It is election interference.”
The former president also said the case was brought by the DOJ and Biden and involved election interference.
Trump’s fine comes as New York is gripped by a wave of migrant crime after more than 170,000 people flooded in the past two years.
The former president also said the case was brought by the DOJ and Biden and involved election interference
His sons Don. Jr and Eric were also each fined more than $1 million and banned for two years
He added: “It has implications for New York, where we have a totally corrupt attorney general. She campaigned on the fact that “I’ll get Trump.” We will appeal.’
“More importantly, it all comes from the DOJ, it all comes from Biden. It is a witch hunt for his political opponent, the likes of which our country has never seen before.
‘There was no fraud, the banks all got their money. They love Trump, they testified that Trump is a great customer. The judge knows that, he is just a corrupt person.
“Letitia James is a terribly corrupt attorney general, and it all has to do with election interference. There were no casualties, the banks made a lot of money.
“Frankly, if we’re not successful, New York State is gone. People are leaving New York State. This will make them move at a much faster pace.
“(New York) is a state that’s going bankrupt because everyone’s leaving. It’s all led by Biden.”
His sons Don. Jr and Eric were also each fined more than $1 million and banned for two years.
Trump, who is worth $2.5 billion according to Forbes, now has 30 days to come up with the money or post a $35 million bond.
Judge Arthur Engoron speaks during the trial of former US President Donald Trump, in a courthouse in Manhattan, New York City, on October 3, 2023
New York Attorney General Letitia James holds a press conference following the ruling against former Trump on February 16, 2024
A view of former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion, where he spoke on Friday
Trump also called James “racist” in a post for Truth Social and continued to storm into the city where he has $690 million in real estate for trying to “kick him out.”
He said he helped New York in “the worst of times” with his business deals and that it is now “overrun with violent Biden migrant crime.”
Trump is likely to appeal the verdict, which would have devastating consequences for his real estate empire, not just in the Big Apple but around the world.
New York City is currently struggling under the weight of the tens of thousands of migrants arriving at its borders in need of housing.
In the past two years alone, the city has had to deal with the arrival of more than 170,000 migrants.
Mayor Eric Adams has said the cost of the Big Apple’s migrant crisis is as much as $4.6 billion as he begs the state for more money.
State Governor Kathy Hochul last month pledged to spend $2.4 billion on the crisis, more than double last year’s proposal.
On Friday, five migrants were formally charged in court with attacking two NYPD officers in Times Square last month.
Yohenry Brito, 24, Yorman Reveron, 24, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, and Wilson Juarez, 21, were all sent to Rikers Island to await trial after being arraigned. They all pleaded not guilty.
According to the NYPD, Yohenry Brito was at the center of the fight, which began when he resisted arrest
Wilson Juarez, left, and Kelvin Servita Arocha, who ICE officials say are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua
Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel and Yorman Reveron were also among those charged on Friday
All are charged with second-degree assault and obstruction of governmental administration, except Juarez, who is charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. They all have to appear in court again on April 13.
A total of eight migrants have been charged since the attack, while police are still searching for at least eight other suspects they believe were involved in the melee.
Earlier this week it also emerged that two of the individuals, Juarez and Servita-Arocha, had been identified as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
ICE spokeswoman Marie Ferguson told the New York Post: “Both non-residents have been identified as members of the transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua.”
Juarez and Arocha, who were released without bail after being charged, were picked up by officers at a Bronx apartment after police issued an arrest warrant for another migrant wanted in connection with the attack.
On Friday, Juarez’s attorney asked that his bail be set at $1 so he can be held to avoid being deported by ICE.
Arocha was arrested on an ICE warrant and his custody status will be reevaluated.
Juarez was arrested on a deportation order issued a year ago by a judge in El Paso, Texas, according to the Post.