'A sledgehammer to Trump': Legal expert says former president is in a 'world of hurt'

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman on Wednesday called a New York judge’s fraud ruling against the Trump Organization “a sledgehammer to [former president Donald] Trump,” telling CNN the finding is “a death penalty for the brand.”

Judge Arthur Engoron on Tuesday cancelled the Trump Organization’s business certificate in response to a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged Trump inflated his net worth “by as much as $2.2 billion in one year,” CNN reports.

Engoron, in his ruling, wrote Trump and the Trump Organization lived “in a fantasy world” and relied on “bogus arguments” to bolster their “obstreperous conduct.”

Per CNN:

The state supreme court judge likened the Trumps’ legal defense of his fraudulent financial statements to a Chico Marx line in the comedy “Duck Soup”: “Well, who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?”

Speaking with CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday, Litman noted the ruling is a “huge” deal — if it holds up in appeals.

"It is a sledgehammer to Trump and the entire organization in New York, including commercial properties,” Litman explained.

"When that holds up, if it's affirmed, Trump Organization no longer exists — it may not do business in New York,” the attorney added.

Noting there could be “different kinds of corporate little twists and turns that will leave [Trump] with something,” Litman said for Trump “and his two sons, they are out of business in the thing that matters most to them.”

“It's a death penalty for the brand which, you know, next only to his liberty is about the worst thing that can happen,” Litman said.

Asked by Berman about the odds of a successful appeal, Litman said he doesn’t “see a lot” of openings for the former president.

“I think this case is very strong,” Litman said. “He is in a world of hurt on the business side.”

Watch the video below or at this link.