Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354M, says frauds 'shock the conscience'

The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.

Last Updated: December 15, 2023, 5:37 PM EST

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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 16, 2024, 4:07 PM EST

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

Dec 15, 2023, 5:32 PM EST

Trump files notice he intends to appeal gag order decision

Donald Trump wants New York's highest court to weigh in on the limited gag order in his civil fraud trial, according to a new filing Friday afternoon.

New York's Appellate Division shot down Trump's earlier challenge Thursday, determining that Trump used the incorrect legal avenue to challenge the limited gag order, which bars him from commenting on Judge Arthur Engoron's staff.

In a notice of appeal filed Friday, Trump's lawyers said they plan to appeal the decision to the Albany-based Court of Appeals -- New York's highest court.

It's unclear if the Court of Appeals will consider the request because Trump also lost a motion for leave to appeal the gag order.

Dec 14, 2023, 1:42 PM EST

Trump's gag order appeal stuck in 'procedural purgatory'

Donald Trump appears to be out of options to appeal the limited gag orders in his civil fraud trial, with his own lawyer describing his options as "procedural purgatory."

In addition to Thursday morning's appellate decision denying Trump's appeal, a panel of appellate judges issued an additional order Thursday denying his request to elevate his appeal to New York's highest court.

The decision forces Trump back to Step 1: asking Judge Arthur Engoron to vacate the gag orders, then appealing the judge's likely denial.

But the timeline for that process is unlikely to work in Trump's favor, with the evidentiary portion of the trial having concluded Wednesday and closing arguments scheduled for Jan. 11.

"We filed the petition because the ordinary appellate process is essentially pointless in this context as it cannot possibly be completed in time to reverse the ongoing harm," Trump attorney Chris Kise told ABC News in a statement regarding the gag orders, which prohibit Trump and attorneys from commenting on the judge's staff.

"Unfortunately, the decision denies President Trump the only path available to expedited relief and places his fundamental Constitutional rights in a procedural purgatory," Kise said.

Dec 14, 2023, 11:22 AM EST

Trump loses bid to throw out limited gag orders, fines

Donald Trump has lost his appeal to throw out the limited gag orders and associated fines in his civil fraud trial.

In a decision Thursday, New York's Appellate Division, First Department rejected Trump's request to annul and vacate the limited gag orders imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron that prohibit Trump and attorneys from commenting on the judge's staff.

In November, Trump's lawyers asked the Appellate Division to vacate the gag orders, citing a provision of New York state law to personally sue Judge Engoron. But the court said in today's ruling that the method used to appeal the gag orders was an improper application of the law.

"To the extent there may have been appealable issues with respect to any of the procedures the court implemented in imposing the financial sanctions, the proper method of review would be to move to vacate the Contempt Orders, and then to take an appeal from the denial of those motions," the ruling said, indicating that Trump should use the normal appellate process to pursue the vacating of the gag orders.

The court also determined that the "extraordinary remedy" requested by Trump's lawyers did not match the minimal potential harm from barring statements about Engoron's staff.

"Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court's staff," the decision said.

Dec 13, 2023, 1:34 PM EST

Trump's lawyers denounce trial as NY AG praises it

Donald Trump's defense attorneys ended where they started, denouncing the former president's civil fraud trial following the conclusion of court today.

"I feel exactly like I did before, three years ago. This case was a joke. We wasted three months," Trump's legal spokesperson Alina Habba told reporters.

Habba, however, acknowledged Trump's unlikely chance of success in the trial while thanking Trump's team of lawyers.

"I think they did an amazing job in a court where we had, frankly, lost before we even got to give any bit of evidence," Habba said, referring in part to Judge Engoron's pretrial partial summary judgment against Trump.

Trump attorney Chris Kise said he is optimistic that Trump will be successful in an eventual appeal.

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the trial "revealed the full extent" of Trump's fraud and that she looks forward to closing arguments.

"While the judge already ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family, this trial revealed the full extent of that fraud -- and the defendants' inability to disprove it. We look forward to presenting our closing argument on January 11," James said.

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