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President Donald Trump won hugely on Thursday when a New York state appeals court terminated a half-billion-dollar fraud penalty imposed on President Trump in 2024 in an infamous civil fraud suit spearheaded by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” Trump wrote in a statement.
He added, “I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State…The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.”
This civil case was one of several suits Trump faced in 2024, amid his bid to reclaim the White House. Last year, the president appealed the civil court verdict that fined him and other defendants, in total, over half a billion dollars, arguing that New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling was “egregious.”
The suit was long-winded and intense. Judge Engoron placed a longstanding gag order on the president to prevent him from talking about the case, which was brought by AG James. She alleged that the Trump Organization had engaged in fraudulent business practices.
However, the massive penalty was found to be “excessive” by the appeals court, and “violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” per CNBC.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits the use of excessive fines, bail, and cruel or unusual punishments.
Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization Eric Trump – also the president’s second-eldest son – heralded the legal win on X.
“Total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!! After 5 years of hell, justice prevailed!” he wrote.
President Trump went into great detail in his own statement responding to the legal win. He called Judge Engoron “corrupt” and said AG James was even “worse” than the judge.
“She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic!” he wrote. “They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it! Importantly, the Vote was 5 to 0.”
AG James’ legal pursuit of Trump was met with harsh criticism in 2024, and for good reason: she promised to be “a real pain in the ass” and “sue him” before even taking office, as reported by RSBN.
Amid the big victory for Trump in the appeals court, the president reminded Americans that this case, along with various other charges he faced while running for reelection, were “Political Trials in an effort to destroy my viability as a Presidential Candidate before, during, and after the election.”
“It is such an Honor to have withstood it, thrived, and even become President of the United States despite the horrible things that were done to me,” he wrote.
