James: Trump ‘perfected the art of the steal’New York attorney general Letitia James has said: “Donald Trump may have authored the Art of the Deal, but he perfected the art of the steal.”She’s just spoken at a press conference following the massive financial judgment against the former president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr on Friday for fraud.She said:
Donald Trump falsely knowingly inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, his family and to cheat the system. This long running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal, and he did it all of this with the help of the other defendants, his two adult sons, and senior executives at the Trump Organization.
And so, after 11 weeks of trial, we showed the staggering extent of his fraud and exactly how Donald Trump and the other defendants deceived banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions for their own personal gain.
We proved just how much Donald Trump his family and his company unjustly benefited from his fraud.
Updated at 18.28 ESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureClosing summaryIt’s been an expensive day in court for Donald Trump, who was on the wrong end of a $350m judgment from a New York judge for financial fraud committed by the Trump Organization.We’re closing our live coverage of developments now, but here are the highlights (or lowlights, if you’re the former president) of the day’s events.
It wasn’t only a significant financial penalty against Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr, and their associates, for intentionally committing fraud by falsifying government disclosures. Judge Arthur Engoron banned the former president from serving as an officer or director or any New York corporation or entity for three years and his sons for two. The full ruling is here.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said Trump ‘“perfected the art of the steal”, a mocking reference to his best-selling book Art of the Deal. “This long running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal, and he did it all of this with the help of the other defendants, his two adult sons, and senior executives at the Trump Organization,” James said at a Friday evening press conference in Manhattan. “The scale and the scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering. And so too is his ego, and his belief that the rules do not apply to him.”
Trump lashed out at James and Engoron in a wild and freewheeling rant from the steps of his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida. He accused them of being corrupt, and repeated baseless allegations that Joe Biden and Democrats were driving several legal cases against him. “It’s a witch hunt against his political opponent, the likes of which our country has never seen before. This is Russia. This is China,” he said.
Buried in Engoron’s almost-100 page judgment was a questioning of the truthfulness of the former president’s daughter and ex-adviser Ivanka Trump. She was earlier removed as a party in the fraud case, drew criticism for consistently repeating “I don’t recall’” during depositions. “Ivanka Trump was a thoughtful, articulate, and poised witness, but the court found her inconsistent recall, depending on whether she was questioned by OAG [Office of the Attorney General] or the defense, suspect,” Engoron wrote.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that the ruling was a “manifest injustice” and “culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch-hunt” against him. “This is not just about Donald Trump. If this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business,” Habba said, adding that she plans to appeal.
You can find our news report of the day’s events here:Updated at 19.03 ESTSocial media wasted little time in mocking Donald Trump, whom some analysts believe might have to sell some of his portfolio of properties to satisfy the $350m penalty for fraud handed down Friday by New York judge Arthur Engoron.The Lincoln Project, a conservative group opposed to the former president, posted a picture of his flagship Trump Tower in Manhattan decked out as a Spirit Halloween store.The same building was also targeted by others who reposted pictures of it undergoing a liquidation sale:As well as the financial obligation from today’s verdict, Trump also owes writer E Jean Carroll, whom he sexually assaulted in the 1970s, $83.3m from a defamation case ruling last month.Trump lashes out at ‘corrupt’ prosecutor and judge in Mar-a-Lago rantDonald Trump, meanwhile, is lashing out at Letitia James in an angry and largely fact-free rant from the steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Almost shouting at times, a visibly upset Trump repeated his frequent claims that the lawsuit against him was “a sham”, that James, the New York attorney general, and Judge Arthur Engoron were corrupt, and that the prosecution was directed by “Crooked” Joe Biden designed as “election interference” to harm his chances of re-election to the White House in November.Insisting “there was no fraud”, and that “this is Russia, this is China”, Trump said:
A crooked New York state judge just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355m for having built the perfect company. Great cash, great buildings, great everything that affects New York.
The banks all got their money… they love Trump. They testified that Trump is a great, great customer. One of our best customers, they testified beautifully, and the judge knows that he’s just a corrupt person.
There were no victims, because the banks made a lot of money. They made $100m. And, by the way, I paid approximately $300m in taxes.
Trump’s tirade quickly turned political, blaming migrants for “taking over” New York and insisting businesses were fleeing the state. He leveled a much-repeated but baseless allegation that Biden and Democrats were driving this and other legal cases against him:
A poll came out today, we’re up 20 points on Biden. If I weren’t running, none of this stuff would have ever happened. None of these lawsuits would have ever happened.
I’m competing with a man who can’t put two sentences together, who doesn’t know what he’s doing. And we’re heading into a third world war because of this guy. We have to win this election. They’re doing everything possible to step it away, but we’re not going to stand for it.
It’s all headed up by Biden who’s destroying our country. So this is Russia. This is China. This is what you’ve been reading about all your lives, and it’s happening right here in our country.
Updated at 18.30 ESTLetitia James took no questions at her press conference in Manhattan, but delivered a damning verdict on Donald Trump, and his fraudulent tenure at the helm of the Trump Organization:
Today, the court once again ruled in our favor, and in favor of every hard working American who plays by the rules. Donald Trump and the other defendants were ordered to pay $463.9m. That represents $363.9m in disgorgement plus $100m in interest, which will continue to increase every single day until it is paid.
I want to be clear, white collar financial fraud is not a victimless crime. When the powerful break the law and take more than their fair share, there are fewer resources available for working people, small businesses and families.
Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank about how much money they have in order to get a mortgage, to buy a home, or a loan to keep their business afloat, or to send their child to college. And if they did our government would throw the book at them.
The scale and the scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering. And so is his ego, and his belief that the rules do not apply to him.
Today, we are holding Donald Trump accountable. We are holding him accountable for lying, cheating, and a lack of contrition, and for flouting the rules at all of us. There cannot be different rules for different people in this country and former presidents are no exception.
This decision is a massive victory for every American who believes in that simple but fundamental pillar of our democracy that the rule of law applies to all of us equally fairly.
James: Trump ‘perfected the art of the steal’New York attorney general Letitia James has said: “Donald Trump may have authored the Art of the Deal, but he perfected the art of the steal.”She’s just spoken at a press conference following the massive financial judgment against the former president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr on Friday for fraud.She said:
Donald Trump falsely knowingly inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, his family and to cheat the system. This long running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal, and he did it all of this with the help of the other defendants, his two adult sons, and senior executives at the Trump Organization.
And so, after 11 weeks of trial, we showed the staggering extent of his fraud and exactly how Donald Trump and the other defendants deceived banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions for their own personal gain.
We proved just how much Donald Trump his family and his company unjustly benefited from his fraud.
Updated at 18.28 ESTOffensive social media posts emanate so easily and shamelessly from Donald Trump’s social media entity Truth Social.He’s on a vicious, ad hominem rant tonight after the New York fraud trial judgement, in which he once again calls New York attorney general Letitia James racist.It’s a tactic he has with Black prosecutors in particular, including Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who’s steering the hush money case that will become Trump’s first criminal trial next month, and Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis who is leading the Georgia election interference criminal case against him – both cases very much in the news this week.Writing for Guardian US, Tayo Bero, last year comprehensively debunked Trump’s delusions about anti-white racism, pointing out that “the political and racial maneuvering here is obvious, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous.” Her piece is here.Trump sideswipes migrants with inaccurate information while he’s at it in this outburst just posted: “The Justice System in New York State, and America as a whole, is under assault by partisan, deluded, biased Judges and Prosecutors. Racist, Corrupt A.G. Tish James has been obsessed with “Getting Trump” for years, and used Crooked New York State Judge Engoron to get an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business. I helped New York City during its worst of times, and now, while it is overrun with Violent Biden Migrant Crime, the Radicals are doing all they can to kick me out…..”There’s more and Trump also promised “more to follow”, but the above sample probably proves sufficient to get his mindset/strategy.Updated at 17.59 ESTThere’s some more detail on judge Arthur Engoron’s decision not to order the cancellation of the Trump Organization’s business certificates.That would have essentially ended the company’s ability to continue operation in New York for good, where it originated and has long been headquartered.In Friday’s verdict, Engoron overturned his decision from last September, saying today that “the cancellation of the business licenses is no longer necessary” as he is ordering the appointment of two court monitors to oversee “major activities that could lead to fraud” in future.He’s already spoken about the Trump family defendants’ borderline pathological “complete lack of contrition” over their wrongdoing, therefore seeing a risk that they could continue to cheat if not at least suspended from running the business.Experts speaking, variously, to the New York Times in a previous piece and the BBC indicated, in short, that Engoron has played on the safer side by changing his mind about crushing the business entirely, thus helping to insulate the verdict on appeal.A person documents a Donald Trump impersonator in front of Trump Tower as seen in New York, New York, USA, 16 February 2024. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPANew York attorney general hails ‘massive victory’ in Trump caseThe New York state attorney general, Letitia James, has posted her initial reaction to the ruling in the Trump Organization fraud case, calling it a “massive victory”.She posted on X: “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 $450m in disgorgement and interest.”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.— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 16, 2024Disgorgement, according to the Cornell University Law School, is “a remedy requiring a party who profits from illegal or wrongful acts to give up any profits they made as a result of that illegal or wrongful conduct. The purpose of this remedy is to prevent unjust enrichment and make illegal conduct unprofitable.”James is planning a press conference at 6pm ET and we’ll bring you the news as it happens.The New York attorney general Letitia James, center left, watches Trump in court at his fraud trial. Photograph: Dave Sanders/APHere’s a recent profile the Guardian US published about James.Updated at 17.18 ESTJudge uses understatement to damn Ivanka Trump’s truthinessBuried in the middle of Judge Arthur Engoron’s almost-100 page judgment in the Trump family business fraud case was a smoothly delivered but stinging rebuke of Ivanka Trump’s truthiness.Ivanka was a witness not a defendant in the Trump Organization civil case in New York, and she took the stand last November, testifying in a calm and orderly manner most memorable for the infamous little phrase, “I don’t recall”.Well, it didn’t fool Engoron. On page 45 of his ruling today he excoriated the former president’s older daughter thus: “Ivanka Trump was a thoughtful, articulate, and poised witness, but the court found her inconsistent recall, depending on whether she was questioned by OAG [Office of the Attorney General] or the defense, suspect.”Ivanka Trump, 42, left her fashion business, which is now discontinued, while she was working as an unpaid senior adviser in the White House for the Trump administration. She has also been an executive vice-president in the Trump Organization and a judge on her dad’s television show The Apprentice.Judge Engoron completed his Trump hand today thus: “In any event, what Ms Trump cannot recall is memorialized in contemporaneous emails and documents; in the absence of her memory, the documents speak for themselves.”Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrive for the funeral of Melania Trump’s mother, Amalija Knavs, in Palm Beach, Florida in January. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/APUpdated at 16.55 ESTEngoron cancels ‘dissolution’ of companies that control real estate empireBut the judge canceled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control pillars of Trump’s real estate empire, Reuters reports.Engoron said on Friday that this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee Trump’s businesses.Updated at 16.35 ESTTrump lawyer Alina Habba says ruling is ‘manifest injustice’Trump’s legal team has responded to the massive fine and three-year ban. Via Reuters:Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that the ruling was a “manifest injustice” and “culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch-hunt” against him.“This is not just about Donald Trump – if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business,” Habba said, adding that she plans to appeal.Updated at 15.55 ESTEngoron says Trump ‘severely compromised his credibility’ during trialThe New York fraud case ruling is a massive blow to Trump and his business empire and a big win for New York attorney general Letitia James, who is expected to speak on the ruling at a press conference this afternoon.In addition to the big fine and ban on doing business, Trump also is barred from obtaining loans from New York banks for three years.Trump’s conduct in the case entered into the judge’s opinion.“Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial,” Judge Engoron wrote. “His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility.”Updated at 17.00 ESTTrump and sons fined more than $350mThe New York attorney general Letitia James secured a fine of more than $350m against Trump, his eldest sons and their associates after a judge found them guilty of intentionally committing fraud by falsifying government disclosures.Judge Arthur Engoron also banned the former president from serving as an officer or director or any New York corporation or entity for three years. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr were issued two-year bans.The full ruling can be found here. We’re reading through it now.Updated at 17.00 ESTTrump barred from running businesses in New York for three yearsThe ruling in the New York fraud case against former president Donald Trump has been released, banning Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years.The New York attorney general’s office sued Trump for inflating the value of his assets on government financial statements in the case, which also includes Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and two former Trump Organization executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, as defendants.The stakes in the case relate to Trump’s businesses, but his political career could be affected by the case as well. It’s factored into his 2024 campaign, where he talks about the “witch hunt” he’s facing across multiple court cases.Updated at 15.26 ESTLawyers who’ve been watching the hearings in the Fulton County case against Trump where defense attorneys are trying to get DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade removed from the case have said there’s been little evidence offered of any potential conflict – though the salacious nature of the allegations have done damage to Willis and potentially the case in the court of public opinion.Friday’s hearings have not been as heated or sordid as yesterday’s, instead probing the people surrounding the relationship who may have some information on it. It’s been, at times, tedious and wonky, and the defense hasn’t gotten any kind of smoking gun to prove its claims of a conflict.Terrance Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and onetime divorce attorney, is on the stand now and not offering much to help the defense’s case that the relationship is a conflict of interest or that the timeline of the relationship Willis and Wade have put forward isn’t accurate.Remember, this was supposed to be the star witness to provide factual support for the defense motion. He has very little to offer and, what he has offered, has not contradicted any testimony thus far that was provided by Wade or Willis.— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) February 16, 2024
Robin Yeartie, a former employee in the DA’s office, had testified that Willis started her relationship Wade before he was hired on the Trump case, but she also affirmed she had been ousted over performance. Other witnesses have not shown evidence of a different timeline, nor did Yeartie.On the southern border of the US and Mexico, the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said he’s going to build a military “base camp” in Eagle Pass, the city where there’s an ongoing standoff between US Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard.Here’s more from Reuters:The facility – dubbed Forward Operating Base Eagle – will be an 80-acre complex along the banks of the Rio Grande and house up to 1,800 troops, with the ability to expand to 2,300, Abbott and state officials said at a press conference.The move is part of a broader effort by Abbott to try to stop migrants from crossing the border illegally into Texas, including a makeshift barrier of shipping containers and concertina wire in a city-owned park in Eagle Pass. The state intends to install more barriers north and south of the park, officials said on Friday.U.S. immigration enforcement historically has been the responsibility of the federal government and Abbott’s moves to secure the border have triggered legal standoffs with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
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