Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354 million, says frauds 'shock the conscience'
The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.
Former President Donald Trump has been fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in interest in a civil fraud lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel him to the White House. In the decision, Judge Arthur Engoron excoriated Trump, saying the president's credibility was "severely compromised," that the frauds "shock the conscience" and that Trump and his co-defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."
Engoron also hit Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with $4 million fines and barred all three from helming New York companies for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his adult sons of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
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Summary of penalties
Donald Trump and his adult sons were hit with millions in fines in the civil fraud trial and barred for years from being officers in New York companies. The judge said the frauds "shock the conscience."
Donald Trump: $354 million fine + approx. $100 million in interest
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
Donald Trump Jr.: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Eric Trump: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg: $1 million fine
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney:
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Jared Kushner would lend 'perspective' on deals, says Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner, who like Ivanka Trump served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, would frequently weigh in on her family's real estate negotiations in the years before Donald Trump became president, Ivanka Trump testified.
State attorneys shared emails Ivanka Trump had sent her husband during negotiations with bankers over loan interest rates. Asked by state attorney Louis Solomon why she would share those records with Kushner, Trump responded, "It is not uncommon that I would ask my husband's perspective on something I was working on."
"My husband also was in real estate, and would have perspective for me," she said of Kushner, who, like Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant in the case. "So periodically we would discuss what we were working on."
Attorneys for Trump challenged the admissibility of emails belonging to Kushner, citing spousal privilege.
Justice Engoron overruled those objections because they communicated over work emails.
"If you use a work email that is subject to being seen by other people, you waive confidentiality," Engoron said.
New York AG moves to stop testimony from defense experts
Donald Trump's lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting the defense's case on Monday following the conclusion of the presentation of the New York attorney general's case -- but New York AG Letitia James is arguing that four of the defense's expert witnesses are no longer relevant.
In a filing made today, James argues that Judge Engoron's partial summary judgment decision and subsequent changes to the state's case have made make the testimony from the four experts irrelevant.
State lawyers plan to make an oral motion to preclude the expert testimony tomorrow, according to their filing.
'I don't recall' discussion of financial statements, Ivanka Trump says
State attorney Louis Solomon grew visibly frustrated with Ivanka Trump's limited recollections during an exchange about Donald Trump's Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C.
Solomon attempted to confront Ivanka Trump with a document that showed that the General Services Administration -- which ran the selection process for the renovation of the building -- raised concerns about Donald Trump's financial statements in 2011. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who says the statements contained fraudulent valuations, alleges that both Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump addressed those concerns during an in-person meeting with GSA officials.
"It was a general presentation. I don't recall with specificity any discussion of financial statements," Ivanka Trump said, prompting Solomon to throw his hands in the air.
"When I ask a question, she doesn't remember," an exasperated Solomon said. "The witness does have a recollection, your honor!"
"Would you like to clarify the situation?" Judge Engoron directly asked Ivanka Trump, who repeated the same description of the meeting.
"I recall one in-person meeting" about the "big picture" of the project, Ivanka Trump testified. She said recalled no discussion of "financial statements or anything granular like that."
Donald Trump's lawyers, meanwhile, have continued to object to Solomon asking questions about conduct from over a decade ago, which they say is akin to ancient history for a fast-moving real estate company.
"The GSA decision was made years before the statute of limitations," Donald Trump's lawyer Chris Kise argued, though Engoron overruled the objection.
'You are starting to sound like your client,' judge teases lawyer
Donald Trump is not in court today, but his lawyer is beginning to sound like the former president, according to a quip from Judge Arthur Engoron.
Describing the Trump Organization's renovation of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Trump's lawyer Chris Kise argued that the building was transformed from a "hulking relic" into a "world-class facility."
"You are starting to sound like your client," Engoron said, prompting some laughs from the gallery.
Banker says Trump declined to share financials in Bills' bid
After claiming a net worth of $8 billion, Donald Trump declined to share his financial statements with bankers related to his $1 billion bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills football team in 2014, according to documents presented at trial and testimony from Morgan Stanley executive K. Don Cornwell.
Of the 86 parties contacted to potentially bid on the Bills, Trump was one of six parties to make a final bid, according to a Morgan Stanley document shown at trial.
However, when Morgan Stanley attempted a close review of Trump's bid, Trump declined to provide his financial statements.
"We feel it is premature to sign the consent release forms until such time as we know that Mr. Trump is the final bidder," then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen said in a 2014 email shown at trial.
During a management presentation with Bills' leadership, Trump instead handed out a Forbes magazine list to support his bid, according to Cornwell.
"He gave us handouts of the Forbes list of the top-paid entertainers," Cornwell said.
Trump eventually lost his bid to purchase the football team to billionaire Terry Pegula, who outbid Trump by $400 million.
During cross-examination, Cornwell acknowledged that a lawsuit Trump previously brought against the NFL, as well as his affiliation with casinos, also limited the likelihood of his success.
"You thought that President Trump had little chance of being approved by the NFL?" defense attorney Ivan Feris asked.
"Yes," Cornwell replied.
Trump's lawyers have argued that his bid to purchase the Bills -- which has featured prominently in the testimony of other witnesses -- is irrelevant to the conduct alleged in the attorney general's lawsuit.
"It is the defense position that none of this relates to a cause of action in this case," Feris said.