New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in court during the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump at the New York State Supreme Court on October 24, 2023, in New York City. | Source: Pool / Getty
Donald Trump was dealt a sobering dose of reality on Tuesday when the New York Attorney General’s office said there was “no basis” to drop a mammoth civil fraud judgment against the president-elect.
The firm rejection of Trump’s repeated requests to drop the nearly half-billion-dollar judgment came as he has been trying to assert his immunity in other legal cases against him, seemingly emerging victorious in those instances.
MORE: Letitia James Is Holding Powerful, Corrupt White Men Accountable
But not when it comes to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose civil fraud suit against Trump led to a jury in February finding that he exaggerated the worth of his business and assets to secure loans and other financial benefits without revealing that he’s not as wealthy as he claims. The punitive damages owed by Trump were initially $464 million, but that figure has since inflated to $497 million because of the interest accrued while he tries to legally maneuver out of paying it.
And, according to the letter from New York Deputy Solicitor General Judith N. Vale responding to a letter from D. John Sauer, an attorney nominated by Trump to be solicitor general, the president-elect is still very much on the hook to pay the bill.
“Your letter presents no basis for this Office to seek to vacate the final judgment or to
dismiss this action,” Vale wrote in no uncertain terms to Sauer in the latter dated Monday.
Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump at the New York Supreme Court on January 11, 2024, in New York City. | Source: Pool / Getty
Vale explained the reason for keeping the judgment as-is was twofold.
Citing legal precedent, Vale shot down claims that the judgment would adversely affect Trump’s presidency, saying they had “no merit” and noting that the “ordinary burdens of civil litigation do not impede the President’s official duties in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution.”
In addition, Vale reminded Sauer that “the overwhelming evidence supports [New York] Supreme Court’s conclusion that Mr. Trump and the other defendants engaged in repeated and persistent fraud and illegality” – a non-negotiable fact that prompted “awarding disgorgement and other equitable relief.”
Read Vale’s full letter by clicking here.
Trump’s lawyers previously said that the purported billionaire couldn’t afford to pay the judgment.
Vale’s defiant response contrasts with the actions of federal special counsel Jack Smith, who was prosecuting Trump in a 2020 election interference case before moving last month to dismiss all the charges. Those dropped charges came after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in July to grant immunity for crimes that a president may commit.
Now’s a good time to be reminded that Trump has relentlessly taunted James, and he even doxxed her while he was under a gag order. He repeatedly called her and other Black prosecutors who brought cases against him “racist” without bothering to give a single example of their racism — which would have been rich anyway coming from a man who provides endless examples of his own racism.
Given those above facts, Sauer still brazenly appealed to James to drop the judgment under the purported guise that it would help Trump – a man who the U.S. Department of Justice claimed “pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting election results” – end “our Nation’s partisan strife” and be “for the greater good of the country.”
This is America.
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