OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Georgetown University law school professor and legal expert Jonathan Turley compared the treatment former President Donald Trump is getting in New York courts to “mob justice” in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
Turley was responding to the massive $454 million fine levied against him in his civil fraud case, noting that the way the ruling was written, Trump can’t even appeal the decision until he actually pays the money.
” This is obviously a situation where you don’t have any good options, including getting the bond itself. Remember, if you get the bond, you still lose a considerable amount of money on the cost of the bond. And this creates a sort of perverse incentive for judges like this one who comes up with this astronomical, in my view ridiculous, level of damages,” Turley told the “Fox & Friends” morning show hosts.
“Basically, his position is, ‘In order to get any other judge to look at what I’ve done to you, you’ve got to come up with basically a half a billion dollars, just to appeal,'” Turley continued. “It’s like a judge saying, ‘I’m going to take your house away, but you can appeal my decision; you just have to sell your house to do it.
“Many people look at this as a type of almost mob justice,” the law professor added. “As you know, the attorney general ran on bagging Trump. She’s now pledging to seize his property just because he can’t come up with this bond.
“At some point, the courts have got to step in and say, look, this is just simply enough. You know, you’re requiring this astronomical bond just for this guy to be able to get any other judge to look at this decision,” he said.
WATCH:
What the New York 'justice system' has been allowed to do to Donald Trump is criminal in and of itself. If you support this abysmal treatment of a former president, just remember this phrase: "What goes around, comes around."
And pray this lawfare never happens to YOU. pic.twitter.com/TtDwGPWDxu
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) March 20, 2024
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned on ‘getting’ Trump, sought $370 million in damages and a permanent ban on the former president doing any business in the state. Judge Arthur Engoron obliged her, leveling the massive fine and then some in his ruling last month.
“James had sought $370 million, plus 9% interest in penalties from Trump. Any awarded funds would go to the New York State Treasury, unless directed elsewhere by the state comptroller,” Fox News reported.
Trump blasted “clubhouse politician” Engoron and defended the “great company” he built after the ruling, telling Fox News Digital that it is another example of Democrats “trying to stop” him but that “they will not be successful.”
“A crooked New York judge working with the very corrupt attorney general of New York State, who ran on the basis of ‘I will get Trump’ before knowing me — before even knowing anything about me — just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355 million based on absolutely nothing,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “No victims. No damages. Great financial statements, with full disclaimer clauses, only success.”
He added that the “banks and insurance companies were thrilled — they made nothing but money. No defaults, no nothing at a time when many banks are losing money.”
“This is a witch hunt where the judge ruled against me before he even saw the case,” Trump said, noting that Engoron “strongly stated that said Mar-a-Lago was worth $18 million- when it is worth anywhere from 50 to 100 times more than that.”
Fox News Digital added:
In September, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building a real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Trump added that Engoron has “already been overturned on this case four times — a record,” in reference to the New York State Appellate Division’s rulings.
