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.
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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
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.
Defense asks judge to reconsider gag order fine
Defense attorney Chris Kise requested that Judge Engoron again reconsider his decision to fine Donald Trump $10,000 for violating the case's limited gag order yesterday, offering a broader criticism of the gag order based on First Amendment grounds.
"This is open, public, and the defendant has a First Amendment right to comment on what he sees and perceives as a potential source of bias," Kise said.
Like yesterday, Kise maintained that Trump was referring to Michael Cohen, rather than the judge's law clerk, during his hallway statement in which he said the judge has a "person who is very partisan sitting alongside of him." Trump attested to this on the stand yesterday, though Engoron found that Trump was "not credible."
"The review of the statement does not support the sanction," Kise said.
Even if Trump was referring to the clerk, Kise made a broader argument that the gag order itself was "constitutionally infirm," considering Trump is the "leading candidate" for the presidency.
"I don't think that the order survives constitutional scrutiny," Kise said.
State attorney Andrew Amer argued in support of the gag order, which he said was narrowly limited to withstand constitutional scrutiny.
"A federal judge in D.C. has issued a similar order to protect herself," Amer added, referring to a ruling in Trump's election interference case.
Judge Engoron said he would reconsider the fine but stood by his gag order.