When New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her civil fraud case against Donald Trump, I said the move was over the top.
I also stated that based on the judge Trump drew in the case, he was likely to lose, but I believed he would win the case on appeal or have the judgment reduced significantly, even if he had to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to get relief.
As it turns out, none of that was required, as the massive monetary judgment in the case was just tossed by the appellate court.
Forgive the pun, but I did say the case against Trump was “trumped up” when it was first made public.
I don’t deny that Trump engaged in the conduct of which he was accused, but nothing he did is uncommon in the real estate industry, and others who have found themselves in the same situation have faced only small fines or received a slap on the wrist.
James, in a startling twist of fate, is now accused of much the same thing that Trump was said to have done.
I believe the case against Trump was rigged from the outset due to the involvement of a clearly biased judge who entered a pre-emptive partial verdict before Trump had even stepped into the courtroom.
Judge Arthur Engoron, in my opinion, had it out for Trump, and when he issued a massive $350 million judgment against him, which grew closer to $500 million when all the fees and penalties were added in, it showed that the court had just as much of an agenda as James.
Remember, James ran her campaign to become New York attorney general on a promise to take Trump down any way she could.
After the judgment was rendered, James gloated, “Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.”
Her statement continued, stating that the ruling was “a tremendous victory for this state, this nation, and for everyone who believes that we all must play by the same rules -- even former presidents.”
My crystal ball is back on track after a few bad calls, as the financial penalty levied against Trump was just tossed by the appellate court. The court ruled that Trump was liable, but deemed the judgment excessive.
Trump responded, "TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!" But it’s not a total victory because Trump was still deemed to be liable; it was just the monetary penalty that was tossed.
The president continued, "I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before."
This case is not over, far from it. The judges were unable to decide on the question of liability for Trump, so this case is now likely headed to the New York State Court of Appeals for a ruling on that issue. This is a win for Trump, no mistake about that, but he may have jumped the gun on celebrating because he will still have to write a fairly large check, just not one for $500 million.
