NEW YORK – A New York appeals court is set to hear arguments in Donald Trump's fight to overturn a civil fraud judgment that could disrupt his real estate empire and cost him close to a half-billion dollars.
The former president and current Republican nominee has given no indication he plans to attend Thursday’s hearing in Manhattan. Trump's lawyers are asking the state’s intermediate appellate court to nullify a judge’s findings that he deceived banks, insurers and others for years by lying about his wealth on paperwork used to make deals and secure loans. They contend that Judge Arthur Engoron’s verdict was “egregious” and should be reversed.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which sued Trump on the state's behalf, argues that Engoron's decision is backed by “overwhelming evidence."
Here are some things to know about Trump's appeal:
What is this appeal about?
Engoron ruled that Trump padded his net worth by billions of dollars by hugely overvaluing his assets on his annual financial statements. Those assets include golf courses and hotels bearing his name, his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and his Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan.
The judge issued his verdict after a 2½-month trial that saw testimony from 40 witnesses, including Trump. He decided the case because state law doesn’t allow for juries in this type of lawsuit and neither side asked for one.
Engoron found Trump, his company and executives including sons Eric and Donald Jr. liable for falsifying records, conspiring to defraud insurers and issuing false financial statements. He also found former Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney liable for insurance fraud.
Trump and his co-defendants are also challenging Engoron's decision to rule, even before testimony had begun, that the state had proven that Trump had fraudulently inflated his financial statements. The judge ordered Trump and the other defendants to pay $363.9 million in penalties — a sum that has since grown with interest to more than $489 million.
The judge also placed the Trump Organization under an independent monitor’s supervision for at least three years and ordered other sanctions, most of which have been paused while the appeal plays out.
When is Trump's appeal being heard?
Oral arguments are scheduled for noon on Thursday in the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department in Manhattan. The mid-level appeals court sits one rung above Engoron’s trial court in New York's state court system.
A five-judge panel will hear the case. Each side has been allotted 15 minutes to argue. It is also expected to be livestreamed.
Trump has tabbed D. John Sauer, who successfully argued his presidential immunity case before the U.S. Supreme Court, to argue on his behalf. Sauer, a former Missouri solicitor general, was a Rhodes Scholar and served as a Supreme Court clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Judith Vale, New York's deputy solicitor general, will argue on behalf of James' office.
Trump’s lawyers went to the Appellate Division at least 10 times to challenge Engoron’s prior rulings. That included an unsuccessful bid to reverse a gag order and overturn Engoron's decision to fine Trump $15,000 for posting false and disparaging information about the judge's law clerk on social media.
What is Trump's argument?
Trump and his lawyers say the penalties imposed on Trump were “grossly unjust," some allegations should have been barred by the statute of limitations and that the state shouldn’t be policing private business transactions. They also say James improperly sued Trump under a consumer protection statute normally used against businesses that rip off customers.
Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly complained about Engoron's handling of the case, accusing the judge of “tangible and overwhelming” bias and exceeding his authority.
Trump says he didn't lie about his wealth or the value of his properties, and that no one was harmed by his actions. He has decried the verdict as “election interference” and “weaponization against a political opponent.” He has complained that he was being punished for “having built a perfect company, great cash, great buildings, great everything.” James and Engoron are Democrats.
Trump’s lawyers argue that upholding the decision would bestow James with “limitless power to target anyone she desires, including her self-described political opponents.”
What do the state's lawyers say?
James’ office argues that Trump’s appeal is awash in “meritless legal arguments” and ignores volumes of evidence showing that he engaged in “fraud and illegality on an immense scale.”
“On appeal, defendants tellingly ignore almost all their deceptions,” Assistant Solicitor General Daniel Magy wrote in a court filing.
Trump, his company and top executives including Eric and Donald Trump Jr. “created and used financial statements rife with blatant misrepresentations and omissions to maintain loans worth more than half a billion dollars and to generate over $360 million in ill-gotten profits,” Magy wrote.
Trump inflated his net worth on the financial statements by as much as $800 million, to $2.2 billion a year, the state has argued.
Magy said the statute of limitations was applied properly and that state law authorizes the state’s attorney general to take action against fraudulent or illegal business conduct, “regardless of whether it targets consumers, small businesses, large corporations, or other individuals or entities.”
Has Trump had to pay anything yet?
Trump posted a $175 million bond in April to halt collection of the judgment and prevent the state from seizing his assets while he appeals. The bond guarantees payment if the judgment is upheld. If that happens, Trump and his co-defendants will have to pay the state the whole sum, plus interest, which is accruing at $114,553 per day.
Normally, an appellant must put up the full amount in order to halt collection. After Trump's lawyers complained that securing such a large bond was “a practical impossibility," the Appellate Division said it would allow him to post one for $175 million instead.
What happens next?
The Appellate Division typically rules about a month after arguments, meaning a decision could come before Election Day. The court could either uphold the verdict, reduce or modify the penalty or overturn Engoron's verdict entirely.
If either side doesn't like the outcome, it can ask the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, to consider taking the case. Trump has vowed to fight the verdict “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
Trump maintains that he is worth several billion dollars. James has said that if Trump's appeals are unsuccessful and he is unable to pay, she will seek to seize some of his assets.
Because it is a civil case, there is no possibility of prison time.