(DailyAnswer.org) – A notice of appeal was filed on February 26 by former president Donald Trump in response to the New York civil fraud ruling. The appeal by Trump asks the intermediate-level state appellate court to overturn the verdict by Justice Arthur Engoron on February 16.
Engoron’s ruling held the 2024 presidential candidate liable for exaggerating his net worth and the value of his real estate to receive better loan conditions. Trump was ordered by Engoron to pay $355 million. With interest, the total owed has grown to almost $454 million. The total will increase by nearly $112,000 daily until Trump pays, according to Attorney General Letitia James, who launched the lawsuit in 2022.
James’ lawsuit has sought to not only hit the president with a multi-million fine but also bar him from the real estate industry in the state. The ruling that the former president may not run companies in New York City for three years (in addition to having to pay the fine) served as the basis for the campaign by pro-Trump truckers to boycott deliveries to and from the city. Truckers in support of the president claimed Trump is being persecuted by President Joe Biden’s “weaponizing” of the law.
The ruling was branded “confiscatory, extreme, and abusive” by constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley. Trump argued in his response to the verdict that he is entitled to damages and claimed that he is being “punished” for the success of a “perfect company.” He also suggested that the case interfered with the 2024 presidential election after Engoron concluded Trump had participated, along with leading executives of the Trump Organization, in a “conspiracy” that lasted a year. The former president allegedly misled insurers and banks about the amount of wealth and value of properties such as Manhattan’s Trump Tower and Florida’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Trump’s defense lawyers, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba, have asked the court to determine whether Judge Engoron abused the discretion of the law, committed legal errors, or acted outside of his jurisdiction. Habba called on the appellate court to restore the public’s faith in New York’s legal system.
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