Trump dealt blow in New York civil fraud trial: 5 key takeaways
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Former President Trump’s business empire was dealt a stark blow Friday when a New York judge ordered him to pay more than $355 million for conspiring to alter his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits.
Judge Arthur Engoron had already found Trump, his business and top executives — including the former president’s adult sons — liable for fraud before the trial began. But his ruling Friday issued penalties that threaten Trump’s billionaire status and the future of the business that skyrocketed him to fame.
Trump’s lawyers decried the ruling as “manifest injustice” and an “unjust political crusade,” while vowing to appeal it.
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” Engoron wrote in the 92-page decision.
Here are five key takeaways from the consequential ruling.
Colossal fines imposed
Judge Arthur Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial as former President Donald Trump waits to take the witness stand at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in New York. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Engoron imposed a series of eye-popping fines on Trump and his business for conspiring with his top executives to defraud lenders.
Trump and several business entities, including the Trump Organization and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, were together found liable for a whopping $354,868,768.
The figure is short of the $370 million the attorney general’s office asked the judge to force Trump to pay. However, once interest is applied, the office said the ordered total will reach about $450 million.
It’s a massive sum, even for Trump. In conjunction with another $83.3 million judgement against him for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, the fines could constitute between 11 percent to 13 percent or more of his estimated wealth; Forbes estimates the former president’s wealth at $2.6 billion, and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index deemed him worth $3.1 billion.
Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were ordered to pay more than $4 million each, and ex-Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was directed to pay $1 million.
Blocked from New York business
Donald Trump, Jr. sits in the courtroom before the continuation of his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in New York. (Michael M. Santiago//Pool Photo via AP)
The order bans Trump from serving in top roles in any New York business for three years — and Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump face the same fate for two years.
Both Trump sons currently serve as executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization, raising questions about the leadership of the Trump family business in the decision’s wake.
Weisselberg was also barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity for three years. He and ex-controller Jeffrey McConney face lifetime bans on serving “in the financial control function” of any New York company.
Trump and his businesses also are prohibited for three years from applying for loans from any institution registered with the state.
Engoron wrote in his decision that his choice to impose harsh injunctive relief in part hinged on the fact that the Trump Organization had a history of “corporate malfeasance.” He noted that the organization allowed Weisselberg to stay in his “critical role” as chief financial officer for five months after the executive pleaded guilty in August 2022 to committing fraud at the company.
“This is not defendants’ first rodeo,” Engoron wrote.
Weight on witness credibility
Judge Arthur F. Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
The ruling discusses at length how the judge viewed the major witnesses’ credibility.
Engoron saved some of his harshest critiques for Trump and his son, Eric.
When the former president took the stand in November, he on numerous occasions attacked Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), often drawing the judge’s ire and admonition. Trump’s testimony bounced around myriad unrelated topics, from calling his opponents “Trump haters” to defending his efforts to protect the country from Russia and China while president.
“Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial,” Engoron wrote in his ruling. “His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility.”
The judge also said Eric Trump’s credibility was “severely damaged” when he made false statements during his testimony when asked if he knew about his father’s statements of financial condition. At trial, state lawyer Andrew Amer pointed to a 2013 email he received from another company executive asking for information needed to fill out former President Trump’s financial statement — after Eric Trump said he “never had anything to do” with the documents.
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Engoron gave mixed thoughts on testimony from Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, who was dropped as a defendant in the case, calling her a “thoughtful, articulate, and poised witness.” Still, he called her “inconsistent recall” when questioned by state lawyers versus the defense “suspect.”
Notably, the judge found Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-fixer who has since turned against him and was also a witness in the fraud case, credible despite his previous guilty plea to making false statements and other charges.
“Although the animosity between the witness and the defendant is palpable, providing Cohen with an incentive to lie, the Court found his testimony credible, based on the relaxed manner in which he testified, the general plausibility of his statements, and, most importantly, the way his testimony was corroborated by other trial evidence,” Engoron wrote.
“Michael Cohen told the truth,” the judge added.
Oversight of Trump’s business empire expanded
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Engoron’s ruling enhances independent oversight of Trump’s business empire, creating a two-tiered structure moving forward.
Retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones will continue in her role as independent monitor of the Trump Organization for at least three more years, but Engoron is expanding her role, saying “her observations over the past 14 months indicate that still more oversight is required.”
The judge said the Trump Organization now must receive Jones’s approval prior to submitting financial disclosures to third parties, rather than the previous protocol of seeking review afterward.
“Judge Jones shall submit a proposed order to the Court outlining the specific authority she believes that she needs to keep defendants honest, and the obligations of defendants, to effectuate a productive and enhanced monitorship going forward,” Engoron ordered.
He also ordered an independent director of compliance be installed at the Trump Organization, at the company’s expense. Jones will propose candidates for the position and ultimately oversee their work.
Trump business dissolution reversed
Former President Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)
Before the trial kicked off, Engoron had already handed Trump a striking loss in the case by ordering that his business certificates in New York be canceled.
The cancellations were paused by a state appeals court, so the process hadn’t moved forward. If allowed to stand, however, Trump could’ve lost control of his famed properties, including Trump Tower and some golf courses.
But Engoron pulled back Friday, vacating his earlier decision.
“This Court did not order the corporate cancellations cavalierly. Although Executive Law § 63(12) expressly allows a Court to do this, doing so could implicate serious economic concerns,” Engoron wrote.
Some of Trump’s businesses could still be dissolved down the road, however, with the judge now leaving matters to the newly expanded oversight structure.
Engoron said Jones and the new independent director of compliance can conduct “individual review” as necessary about any restructuring and dissolution of Trump’s companies.
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