It’s a tough day during a tough week in what is sure to be a tough year for former one-term president Donald Trump. Remember that ongoing civil fraud trial wherein he was accused of inflating the value of his businesses to get better loans? Well, the judge in that trial has handed down a pulverizing decision that will cost Trump north of $350 million and bar him from doing business in his home state for the immediate future. Judge Arthur F. Engoron handed down a penalty of $355 million to Trump and barred him “from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years.” Trump’s sons were included in that judgment, receiving two-year-bans and $4 million fines each.
In a scathing ruling, Engoron said that “the buck for being truthful in the supporting data valuations stopped with the Trump Organization, not the accountants.” He then called out Trump’s lack of remorse when the fraud was discovered:
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said the decision was “a manifest injustice — plain and simple,” and that she expects the appellate court to overturn the verdict. The rough and tumble trial included outbursts from Trump against prosecuting attorney and New York Attorney General Letitia James, wherein he used one of his favorite missives and called the proceedings a “witch hunt.” James, on the other hand, kept her cool in court and maintained that Trump “reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains.”
The genesis of the trial came from congressional testimony by Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who shared that Trump would adjust the values of whatever he wanted as long as it suited his businesses. Trump’s fraud included things like tripling the size and value of his home in Trump Tower and adding a “brand value” to his golf courses even though the financial statements explicitly said otherwise. He valued his social club and Florida residence Mar-a-Lago at somewhere between $426 million and $612 million; the same property was appraised by the Palm Beach County assessor for between $18 million and $27 million.
During the trial, both Trump and his two oldest sons took the witness stand. Trump called James a “hack” and said the judge was “extremely hostile” before going after the judge’s law clerk, resulting in death threats against the court. The judge imposed a gag order on Trump and he was fined $15,000 for breaking it two times. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s two court losses for Trump fairly close to each other. Two months ago, he lost a defamation case by writer E. Jean Carroll after a jury had already found him liable of sexually assaulting her. Trump was ordered to pay $83 million and was said to be flirting with potential bankruptcy.
There are currently three other criminal cases looming that contain more than 57 felony counts between all of them, and since most of Trump’s wealth is in real estate, the rulings could very well drain any liquidity ⏤ like cash or stocks or bonds ⏤ in the Trump war chest. Trump testified, under oath, that he was sitting on about $400 million in cash. Without being a math major, it’s fairly obvious that $355 million plus $83.3 million is about $38.3 million more than $400 million. If he can’t come up with the cash, there’s always the possibility he will sell one or more of his buildings. Engoron’s order also says that Trump’s NY business certificates should be cancelled, which Trump is currently appealing.
Needless to say, this has not been the best day for dear old Donald, so get ready, MAGA minions: the donation requests ⏤ like the one he lovingly included in Melania’s Valentine’s Day message ⏤ have only just begun.