Donald Trump Appeals to Have $454 Million Civil Fraud Judgement Overturned

Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump filed a motion on Tuesday asking a New York appeals court to overturn the $454 million civil fraud penalty placed against him earlier this year. According to the documents presented to the First Department of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Trump’s attorneys argue that Judge Arthur Engoron incorrectly ruled on the original case in February, resulting in a verdict that harms not only the former president but the entirety of New York as well.

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“Based on the ruling in this case, no company will want to come to New York to do business, and many businesses are fleeing,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “The economic aspects of this decision are a disaster for New York. The New York Attorney General’s office has used the statute in a way never seen before.”

The attorneys also claim that Judge Engoron “struggled to understand basic banking concepts” before handing down his verdict, finding Trump guilty of misleading lenders about the value of his properties despite there being “no victims and no losses” associated with the case.

“If Appellants’ conduct constituted ‘fraud’ […] then that word has no meaning, and [New York Attorney General’s] power to seize and destroy private businesses is boundless—and standardless,” the attorneys added.