Late Wednesday night, lawyers from New York asked an appeals court to keep Donald Trump’s nearly $500 million civil fraud judgment. They said there was “overwhelming evidence” to support a judge’s decision that the former president lied for years about his wealth while he built his real estate empire.
In papers that were turned in before the oral arguments next month, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the current Republican nominee’s appeal is full of “meritless legal arguments” and doesn’t take into account the large amounts of trial evidence that show he and his co-defendants committed “fraud and illegality on an immense scale.”
On appeal, defendants tellly ignore almost all of their lies, Assistant Solicitor General Daniel S. Magy wrote in a 168-page document sent to the Appellate Division, the state’s middle-level appeals court.
Magy wrote that Trump, his company, and top executives like his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. “created and used financial statements rife with blatant misrepresentations and omissions to maintain loans worth more than $500 million and to make over $360 million in illegal profits.”
The Appellate Division said on Wednesday that the case will be heard on September 26. This is about six weeks before the election and right after early voting starts in some states. The court usually makes a ruling about a month after the arguments, which means that a choice could be made before the election is over.
If the decision is confirmed, it could hurt Trump’s wealth, the Trump Organization, and his reputation as a smart businessman. The people charged with Trump owe more than $485 million as of Wednesday. Among those costs is interest that keeps adding up even though Trump put up a $175 million bond in April to stop the state from taking his property while he fights.
On February 16, Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump lied about his income on financial documents used to get loans and make deals. Trump is now asking the Appellate Division to overturn that decision. He and his lawyers say the decision was “wrong” and “egregious.”
The Appellate Division could either uphold Engoron’s ruling, change or lessen the punishment, or throw out the whole thing. If Trump doesn’t win in the Appellate Division, he can ask the Court of Appeals, which is the top court in the state, to think about taking his case. He will get his bond money back and not have to pay the state anything if he wins.
Trump and his lawyers say the case should never have gone to trial because some of the accusations were too old to be made and the government shouldn’t be watching over private business deals. They also don’t like how James’ case was set up. They say that the law she sued him under is a consumer protection law that is usually used to stop businesses from ripping off customers.
Trump says he didn’t do anything wrong and that no one was hurt. People who disagree with him have called the decision “election interference” and “weaponization against a political opponent.” They said he was being punished for “having built a perfect company, great cash, great buildings, great everything.” They are both Democrats, James and Engoron.
When the state lawyers replied on Wednesday, they said that the statute of limitations had been followed correctly and that state law allows the attorney general to take action against dishonest or illegal business behavior “regardless of whether it targets consumers, small businesses, large corporations, or other individuals or entities.”
Oral arguments on Wednesday will add to Trump’s already busy September. He is running for president again and dealing with the fallout from several court losses.
On September 10, Trump will face Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against him as a Democrat. On September 16, the judge in Trump’s hush money case will likely decide on a defense request to overturn his felony sentence and throw out the case because he is president. Trump is supposed to be judged in the criminal case two days later, but his lawyers have asked that it be put off until after Nov. 5, which is Election Day.
For years, Trump, his company, and its top leaders planned to make his financial statements look better than they really were so that people would think that he and his properties were worth more than they were. Lawyers for the state said Trump lied about his net worth on his tax returns by as much as $800 million to $2.2 billion a year.
It was not only Trump’s company that could not do business after the judge imposed the harsh financial punishment. One of the things Engoron did was put the Trump Organization under the watchful eye of a court-appointed watchdog for at least three years.
Engoron’s decision will make Trump give up a big chunk of his wealth if it is maintained. The judge told Trump he had to pay $355 million in fines because he thought Trump had “ill-gotten gains” from lying about his finances, such as lower loan interest rates and profits from projects he wouldn’t have been able to finish otherwise.
The total amount owed, plus interest, was $485.2 million as of Wednesday. This amount includes $20.6 million in interest that has been added since the decision. If he doesn’t pay, the amount will go up by almost $112,000 every day until the decision is overturned.
According to Trump, he is worth a few billion dollars. He said in court last year that he had about $400 million in cash, buildings, and other investments. James has said that she will try to take some of Trump’s property if he can’t pay.
In a document filed last month, Trump’s lawyers said that if Engoron’s decision is confirmed, it would give James “limitless power” to go after anyone she wants, even people she calls political opponents.
