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
Trump attorney accuses state of withholding witnesses
Judge Arthur Engoron will allow the New York attorney general to call two witnesses during the state's rebuttal case once the defense rests its case -- over the objection of Trump attorney Chris Kise.
"The government has held these witnesses back," Kise said, arguing against the decision.
While state attorney Kevin Wallace maintained that their two rebuttal witnesses -- Cornell professor Eric Lewis and former Trump Organization executive Kevin Sneddon -- would only address arguments already made in court, Kise argued that the witnesses would be used to backfill evidence that the defense team would not be able to address fully.
"It's not rebuttal. It's filling a hole," Kise said, accusing the state of "gamesmanship" by withholding evidence.
Unconvinced by Kise's argument, Engoron ruled that the witnesses would still be permitted to testify.
"I see no reason not to allow these two purported experts to testify," Engoron said.
In response, Trump's defense attorneys suggested they might attempt to present an additional witness after the state's rebuttal case.
Trump's defense expected to rest its case today
After presenting four weeks of testimony, Donald Trump's lawyers are scheduled to rest their case in the former president's civil fraud trial today.
With Trump no longer testifying as a defense witness, New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov will be Trump's final witness.
Resuming his cross-examination this morning, Bartov is likely to face questions about inconsistencies and potential bias in his analysis of Trump's financial statements. Paid an hourly rate of $1,350 for 650 hours of work, Bartov said last week that he received payments from both the Trump Organization and Trump's Save America PAC.
Bartov strongly defended Trump's statements of financial condition, the documents at the center of the New York attorney general's case, during his testimony last week, saying that he could find "no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud." Bartov also argued the documents were insignificant to the banks that loaned Trump money, which he said used their own analysis to make their loan decisions.
"It is impossible to argue -- it is really absurd to argue -- that Deutsche Bank or any bank or any lender would make lending decisions based on the statements of financial condition," Bartov said. "This should close the book on this case."
Trial to resume on Tuesday
Donald Trump's civil fraud trial will resume on Tuesday, following the announcement from the former president that he was canceling his plans to testify Monday in his own defense.
"Donald Trump already testified in our financial fraud case against him," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Sunday afternoon following Trump's announcement. "Whether or not Trump testifies again tomorrow, we have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family. No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don't lie."
The trial will continue Tuesday with the cross-examination of the defense's accounting expert Eli Bartov. Once Bartov concludes his testimony, Trump's defense case is expected to rest.
Lawyers for the New York attorney general plan to present a brief rebuttal case, which might conclude as early as Tuesday.
Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for Jan. 11, and a written decision in the case may come in late January.
Trump cancels plans to testify Monday
Donald Trump has canceled his plans to testify in his own defense in his civil fraud trial, the former president said in a statement Sunday.
"I will not be testifying on Monday. MAGA!" Trump wrote on social media.
Trump cited the testimony of his expert witnesses, the use of what he called his "ironclad disclaimer clause," and alleged bias by the judge overseeing the case as reasons he no longer planned to testify.
"I HAVE ALREADY TESTIFIED TO EVERYTHING & HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS A COMPLETE & TOTAL ELECTION INTERFERENCE," he wrote.
The former president was due to return to the courtroom Monday after testifying last month in the state's case.
Scrutiny over Trump's presidency prompted bank to halt relationship
Deutsche Bank decided to stop doing new business with Donald Trump due to the "increased exposure" and "scrutiny" related to his being elected president, according to testimony from Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic.
"It was an unprecedented situation to have a customer who was going to become president of the United States," Vrablic said.
By the time Trump was elected, the bank had made three profitable loans to Trump, making a projected $6.8 million in revenue from Trump in 2014. Vrablic confirmed that by July 2015, Trump had $31 million in cash deposits with the bank, and his associated entities stored $86 million in cash deposits.
However, the scrutiny of Trump's presidency prompted the bank to decide not to increase its exposure, including declining to offer Trump a loan for his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.
"He was president of the United States -- going to become president of the United States -- and the bank's position was they did not want to increase its exposure at that time," Vrablic testified.