Former President Donald Trump has been fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in interest in a civil fraud lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel him to the White House. In the decision, Judge Arthur Engoron excoriated Trump, saying the president's credibility was "severely compromised," that the frauds "shock the conscience" and that Trump and his co-defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."
Engoron also hit Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with $4 million fines and barred all three from helming New York companies for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his adult sons of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 16, 4:07 pm
Summary of penalties
Donald Trump and his adult sons were hit with millions in fines in the civil fraud trial and barred for years from being officers in New York companies. The judge said the frauds "shock the conscience."
Donald Trump: $354 million fine + approx. $100 million in interest + barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company Donald Trump Jr.: $4 million fine + barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company Eric Trump: $4 million fine + barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg: $1 million fine + barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company + barred for life from financial management role in NY company Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney: + barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company + barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Oct 06, 2023, 9:54 AM EDT
Trump withdraws lawsuit against judge
A week after an appeals court denied Trump's request to halt the ongoing trial, the former president is withdrawing a suit he filed against Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump originally undertook the legal move to force the judge to either issue a ruling limiting the case against him or delay the trial.
The suit was discontinued without prejudice, according to a filing.
However, Trump's legal team has told the court that it plans to file a new request for a stay of the trial, pending appeal, sometime today.
Oct 06, 2023, 9:17 AM EDT
Trump Organization controller to resume testimony
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, a defendant in the case, is scheduled to return to the witness stand this morning for a half-day session of court.
State attorneys are expected to continue to probe the Trump Organization's internal procedures that resulted in the inflated values on Trump's financial statements, including how the former president's own Trump Tower penthouse grew in listed value from $80 million in 2011 to $327 million in 2016.
Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled last week that Trump overvalued the apartment by over $200 million based on the "false and misleading" claim that the residence was 30,000 square feet, rather than its actual size of 10,996 square feet.
Jeffrey McConney, controller for the Trump Organization, center, arrives at the New York State Supreme Court in New York, Oct. 5, 2023. Donald Trump is facing off against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
When McConney asked Kathy Kaye, a Trump International Realty executive, for assistance valuing the residence in 2013, Kaye cited the penthouse's ties to "celebrity" and its uniqueness as partial reasons to add $20 million to the apartment's listed value, according to an email that was entered into evidence.
"I don't see how one would list below 8K per sq foot at this point, which brings us to 240,000M ... 200,000M is a safe estimate," Kaye wrote in the email.
McConney also appeared to struggled to explain why he used asking prices, rather than the accepted practice of using sale prices, when valuing the penthouse.
The exchange prompted New York AG special counsel Andrew Amer to confront McConney with his testimony during a previous investigative interview, in which McConney said asking prices were a poor measure of value since "you can ask anything you want to."
Oct 05, 2023, 6:07 PM EDT
Trump Organization controller grilled about assets
Testifying about his responsibilities as the Trump Organization's longtime controller, co-defendant Jeffrey McConney was grilled on the stand by special counsel Andrew Amer of the New York attorney general's office.
Amer pressed McConney about alleged issues with Trump's financial documents.
Asked about why he listed assets from Vornado Trust -- which Trump did not control -- as being under Trump's control, McConney suggested it came down to accounting convenience.
"We couldn't keep adding columns for every bank or brokerage account," McConney said, later adding that the money was held in a Capital One account like the other assets, even if Trump could not access that account.
McConney testified that the individuals who accessed the spreadsheet would understand who controlled that money.
"People can make assumptions in any way they want to. The users looking at this spreadsheet would know it's not one bank account," McConney said.
McConney appeared to struggle to answer questions about the value of Trump's triplex apartment in Trump Tower, which, according to the Trump Organization, ballooned in value from $80 million in 2011 to $327 million in 2016.
The controller testified that he relied on data from the StreetEasy website, adopted cost-per-square-foot estimates from newer properties, and took other Trump Organization executives' claims about the apartment at face value.
McConney is scheduled to continue his testimony tomorrow as the day's only witness.
Oct 05, 2023, 3:35 PM EDT
Defense plans to request a halt to the proceedings
Donald Trump's legal team plans to request a stay of the ongoing fraud trial, pending their appeal of Judge Engoron's partial summary judgment ruling issued last week, defense lawyer Chris Kise notified Engoron in court.
In seeking to halt the trial, the defense team said they plan to file their request tomorrow morning and wanted to provide notice to the state.
State attorneys objected that less than 24 hours' notice is not enough.
"That's clearly not sufficient," Engoron said of the notice, adding that the appellate court could deny the request due to the lack of proper notice.
