XPost: sac.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: ny.politics   
   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   President Trump on Thursday took a victory lap after a New York appeals   
   court threw out the roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against   
   him, using the ruling to attack judges and prosecutors involved in what   
   he called “Political Trials.”   
      
   “TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James   
   Case!” Trump posted in a lengthy message on Truth Social. “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.”   
      
   Trump called the case against him “a Political Witch Hunt, in a business   
   sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.”   
      
   The president went on to attack numerous figures connected to the case   
   and others he faced in New York, including New York Attorney General   
   Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the case. He also   
   attacked Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw a separate case related to hush   
   money allegations in which Trump was found guilty, and Judge Lewis   
   Kaplan, who oversaw a defamation case involving Trump.   
      
   “These were all Political Trials in an effort to destroy my viability as   
   a Presidential Candidate before, during, and after the Election,” Trump   
   posted.   
      
   “All of these Judges should be ashamed of themselves for allowing them   
   to happen. They are Political Hacks who did everything possible to hurt   
   me as a Candidate,” he added. “This was an attack by the Biden/Harris   
   Administration on their Political Opponent, ME. 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.”   
      
   James brought the case against Trump and his business empire in 2022,   
   alleging he falsely altered his net worth on key financial statements to   
   receive tax and insurance benefits.   
      
   A bench trial culminated in a $464 million judgment against Trump and   
   his business, plus interest that has mounted every day since. The total   
   had reached more than $527 million, including interest, as of Thursday.   
      
   The New York court upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump, his eldest   
   sons and another executive conspired to alter his net worth for tax and   
   insurance benefits.   
      
   However, the massive financial penalty against the president and his   
   business will not stand, with the judges saying it amounts to an   
   unconstitutional excessive fine. The ruling enables the case to move   
   toward New York’s top court.   
      
   Beyond the agreement the fine must be tossed, the decision was deeply   
   split. Two judges said the trial court’s findings were justified,   
   another two wanted to order a new trial, and the fifth judge voted to   
   dismiss the case outright.   
      
   In addition to the New York cases, Trump was indicted in 2022 on charges   
   in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C., but his victory in the 2024   
   election rendered the cases moot.   
      
   https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5463778-trump-victory-fraud-p   
   enalty/   
      
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