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

The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.

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.


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


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Jared Kushner would lend 'perspective' on deals, says Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner, who like Ivanka Trump served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, would frequently weigh in on her family's real estate negotiations in the years before Donald Trump became president, Ivanka Trump testified.

State attorneys shared emails Ivanka Trump had sent her husband during negotiations with bankers over loan interest rates. Asked by state attorney Louis Solomon why she would share those records with Kushner, Trump responded, "It is not uncommon that I would ask my husband's perspective on something I was working on."

"My husband also was in real estate, and would have perspective for me," she said of Kushner, who, like Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant in the case. "So periodically we would discuss what we were working on."

Attorneys for Trump challenged the admissibility of emails belonging to Kushner, citing spousal privilege.

Justice Engoron overruled those objections because they communicated over work emails.

"If you use a work email that is subject to being seen by other people, you waive confidentiality," Engoron said.


New York AG moves to stop testimony from defense experts

Donald Trump's lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting the defense's case on Monday following the conclusion of the presentation of the New York attorney general's case -- but New York AG Letitia James is arguing that four of the defense's expert witnesses are no longer relevant.

In a filing made today, James argues that Judge Engoron's partial summary judgment decision and subsequent changes to the state's case have made make the testimony from the four experts irrelevant.

State lawyers plan to make an oral motion to preclude the expert testimony tomorrow, according to their filing.


'I don't recall' discussion of financial statements, Ivanka Trump says

State attorney Louis Solomon grew visibly frustrated with Ivanka Trump's limited recollections during an exchange about Donald Trump's Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C.

Solomon attempted to confront Ivanka Trump with a document that showed that the General Services Administration -- which ran the selection process for the renovation of the building -- raised concerns about Donald Trump's financial statements in 2011. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who says the statements contained fraudulent valuations, alleges that both Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump addressed those concerns during an in-person meeting with GSA officials.

"It was a general presentation. I don't recall with specificity any discussion of financial statements," Ivanka Trump said, prompting Solomon to throw his hands in the air.

"When I ask a question, she doesn't remember," an exasperated Solomon said. "The witness does have a recollection, your honor!"

"Would you like to clarify the situation?" Judge Engoron directly asked Ivanka Trump, who repeated the same description of the meeting.

"I recall one in-person meeting" about the "big picture" of the project, Ivanka Trump testified. She said recalled no discussion of "financial statements or anything granular like that."

Donald Trump's lawyers, meanwhile, have continued to object to Solomon asking questions about conduct from over a decade ago, which they say is akin to ancient history for a fast-moving real estate company.

"The GSA decision was made years before the statute of limitations," Donald Trump's lawyer Chris Kise argued, though Engoron overruled the objection.


'You are starting to sound like your client,' judge teases lawyer

Donald Trump is not in court today, but his lawyer is beginning to sound like the former president, according to a quip from Judge Arthur Engoron.

Describing the Trump Organization's renovation of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Trump's lawyer Chris Kise argued that the building was transformed from a "hulking relic" into a "world-class facility."

"You are starting to sound like your client," Engoron said, prompting some laughs from the gallery.


Bank wouldn't extend Trump credit to buy Buffalo Bills, exec says

Former president Donald Trump and his company bid $1 billion in 2014 in an attempt to purchase the Buffalo Bills football team.

The only problem was that Trump needed a bank to help finance his bid.

Former Deutsche Bank executive Nicholas Haigh testified that when Trump turned to his bank for help, bank executives declined, fearing it would increase their financial exposure to Trump.

"Deutsche Bank was not willing to increase its credit exposure to Donald Trump at that time," Haigh said.

But the bank was still willing to help Trump by sending a letter to support his bid, according to Haigh -- on the condition that Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney certify that the company was still in compliance with the covenants of the three outstanding loans the bank had given Trump.

McConney verified that Trump had over $300 million in liquid assets in 2014, and that it suffered no material decrease in the value of his illiquid assets, according to a document entered into evidence today.

With that verification, Deutsche Bank issued a letter that Trump had the "financial wherewithal" to fund his bid.

Trump's effort to purchase the Bills was ultimately unsuccessful.