Alongside the financial hit to Trump, the judge also banned him from running businesses for three years, which the President repeatedly referred to as a “corporate death penalty”.
On Thursday, five judges of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court upheld the verdict, but ruled that the size of the fine was “excessive” and that it “violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution”.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive or cruel punishments and penalties.
Court of Appeals vow
State Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the initial case, vowed to take Thursday’s ruling to the state’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals.
Thursday’s appeals court ruling “affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company, and two of his children are liable for fraud,” James added.
Following the initial verdict, Trump subsequently sought to challenge the civil ruling as well as the scale and terms of the penalty, which has continued to accrue interest while he appeals.
He repeatedly condemned the case and the penalty as politically motivated.
His son Don jnr termed the appellate court ruling a “massive win!!!”
“New York Appeals Court has just THROWN OUT President Trump’s US$500+ Million civil fraud penalty! It was always a witch hunt, election interference, and a total miscarriage of justice... and even a left leaning NY appeals court agrees! NO MORE LAWFARE!” he wrote on X.
During hearings, conducted without a jury under state law, Trump accused then-President Joe Biden of driving the case, calling it “weaponisation against a political opponent who’s up a lot in the polls”.
As the case was civil, not criminal, there was no threat of imprisonment.
Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, said at the White House on Thursday that “James is another one that belongs in jail”, referring to the New York attorney general.
“The Democrats really overplayed their hand on this because they thought they could take Donald Trump out.”
- Agence France-Presse
