Topline
Former President Donald Trump raged against Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s Friday ruling ordering him and his companies to pay more than $350 million for fraudulently misstating the value of his assets in a series of angry Truth Social posts Friday—while his campaign fundraised off the decision.
Key Facts
Trump called the decision “a complete and Total SHAM,” and claimed the U.S. justice system “is under assault by partisan, deluded, biased Judges and Prosecutors,” accusing Engoron of being a “Democrat Club-controlled” and “crooked” judge, while calling New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, “racist.”
Trump, who will likely appeal the decision, declared the case “OVER,” citing an appeals court’s June decision to dismiss Ivanka Trump from the case because the claims against her exceeded the statute of limitations.
Within minutes of the ruling, Trump’s family and his attorney, Alina Habba, blasted the order and his presidential campaign issued a fundraising plea to his supporters in an email headlined “DEMOCRAT NEW YORK JUDGE RULED AGAINST ME!”
Donald Trump Jr. said the decision was indicative of the “truly sad” state of what he described as a politically motivated judicial system in which the “primary determinants of the outcome” are “political beliefs” and “venue,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Eric Trump called the ruling “a total joke” and insane, while promising to immediately appeal the decision, he told ABC News.
Habba described the decision “a manifest injustice” and “the culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch hunt,” she tweeted.
Contra
Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, a vocal critic of her uncle who wrote a book about him and the family, called Friday “an emotional day” and said the case marks the end of her grandfather Fred Trump’s real estate legacy, she tweeted. “It has taken over half a century but Donald’s ability to commit fraud with impunity has come to an end—at least in New York—and trust me, that matters to him.”
Key Background
Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday ordered Trump and his companies to pay $354.9 million, while his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were ordered to pay about $4 million each, and former CFO Allen Weisselberg was ordered to pay $1 million. Trump is also prohibited from heading up any New York businesses for three years, and his sons for two years. The ruling marks the culmination of a case New York Attorney General Letitia James first filed in September 2022, accusing Trump and his co-defendants of repeatedly overvaluing his assets to secure more favorable business deals. In a summary judgment, Engoron had already ruled that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud and had overvalued his assets by up to $2.2 billion in some years.
What To Watch For
Trump is required to begin making payments according to the order within 30 days, regardless of an appeal.
