'But he’s qualified to be president?' Trump fraud ruling’s revelations stun experts

16 February 2024

Trump throws fit at 'rude, nasty, and totally biased' New York prosecutors as Trump Org indictment looms

Legal experts are stunned by many of the revelations in Friday’s 92-page New York civil fraud trial ruling fining Donald Trump and his executives $364 million, and barring him from running a business in New York for three years.

Some are pointing to portions of the actual ruling, while others are expressing shock at the magnitude of the judgment and its implications for not only the former president and his real estate empire but for the future of the nation.

“But he’s qualified to be President of the United States?” asked former Bush chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, now a professor of law. Painter was responding to a news report on Friday’s ruling.

Professor of law Andrew Weissmann, a former top DOJ official for decades, made a similar observation: “NY Judge rules Trump cannot participate in business in NY for 3 years, yet Trump says he should be trusted to run the country for 4 years.”

Weissmann also explained some of the ruling on MSNBC:

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought and won the civil fraud case against Trump, notes that the actual total he and his executives will have to pay is far greater than $364 million: “In a massive victory, we won our case against Donald Trump for engaging in years of incredible financial fraud to enrich himself. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and his former executives must pay over $450 million in disgorgement and interest.”

Former SDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Signorelli observes, “Everything Trump was found to have done in the NYAG’s case also has a fed[eral] crim[inal] counterpart. Same for the crim case brought v Trump by @ManhattanDA. Tax evasion, wire fraud by his PACs too. The list of fed crimes that Williams gave Trump a pass for is endless & shameful.” Signorelli was referring to Southern District of New York (SDNY) U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

Professor of law Orin Kerr notes, “Eric Trump lied on the stand until the contrary evidence became ‘overwhelming,'” as he points to this portion of the ruling:

Professor Kerr points to another section of the ruling, quoting Justice Engoron who wrote: The Trump Organizations’s “frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.”

And he adds, “Trump was knee deep in the middle of the fraud.”

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