New York Attorney General Letitia James has officially thrown off the gloves and gone no holds barred against scandal-ridden former President Donald J. Trump in her massive civil fraud case against the ex-POTUS in his home state of New York, where Trump has long centered himself as a mogul of the real estate world.
In a bombshell new filing dropped on Friday, Attorney General James calls on Judge Arthur Engoron to slam the disgraced former president with a staggering $370 million penalty, far exceeding the previous estimate that came in around $250 million before the most recent phase of the civil fraud trial kicked off.
In her filing, James noted that the recent trial held to determine Donald Trump’s ultimate penalty in the case “had demonstrated that he had gained that amount through unlawful conduct.”
Back in October, the ex-president’s eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were formally found liable for intentionally inflating their net worth for the sole purpose of garnering more favorable deals from banks and insurance companies. The current trial is now determining the financial penalties that will be lodged against former President Donald Trump, his co-conspirator sons, and his family company in New York. AG James initially sought restitution of $250 million and a lifetime ban against the former president conducting or practicing business in the state of New York, where he made his name.
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However, in the midst of the ongoing trial, in which both sides are set to present their closing arguments this week, Attorney General James has now shifted gears to the tune of a $370 million penalty against the Trump syndicate, in a post-trial filing that cites evidence that has been presented in the civil trial up to this point.
While attorneys for the former president have not yet provided a formal response to James’ new request, they did submit their own post-trial filing, in which they assert that James has “woefully failed to prove her case and is not entitled to any of the relief.”
Trump and his team have unsurprisingly been utilizing the New York civil fraud trial to bolster Donald’s 2024 presidential campaign and his outrageous public behavior and rhetoric surrounding the highly publicized trial has resulted in a partial gag order following unhinged attacks and thinly veiled threats by the former president and his supporters against Judge Arthur Engoron, his family, and even the courthouse staff.
While this is only a civil trial and Donald Trump faces no true criminal consequences in this case, it’s not lost on anyone that the former president’s reactions have been overexaggerated, at best. Many political pundits, observers, and even Donald’s own family member have noted that James is taking aim at Donald’s New York business empire, which means far more to Trump and his ego than anything else, resulting in the onslaught of bad behavior and Trump’s repeated appearances in the courtroom, despite the fact that he’s not legally required to attend these hearings.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
