A judge said the penalty violated the eighth amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines.
New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled against Trump in February 2024, leaving him with a judgment exceeding $460 million with interest accruing. Trump posted a bond of $175 million, with the appeals process playing out in the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department.
As a whole, the appeals court ultimately affirmed the judgment from Engoron, but the panel of five judges was divided, with three separate opinions, including partial dissents. The court also allowed a path forward for another appeal before New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
Two of the judges–Moulton and Justice Dianne Renwick–said they thought Attorney General Letitia James “acted well within her lawful power in bringing this action, and that she vindicated a public interest in doing so.” Both, however, disagreed with the high penalty.
Justice David Friedman was more critical of the Supreme Court’s ruling and James’s action, accusing her of being interested in “political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business.”
He said that the court’s decision “unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business.”
In a post declaring “TOTAL VICTORY,” Trump said on Truth Social that he was “so honored by Justice David Friedman’s great words of wisdom, which should be read by everyone.”
Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, who also represented Trump in his fraud trial, praised the appeals court ruling on social media.
“Today’s ruling by the New York appeals court is a resounding victory for President Trump and his company,” she said in a statement posted to X.
“The court struck down the outrageous and unlawful $464 million penalty, confirming what we have said from the beginning: the Attorney General’s case was politically motivated, legally baseless, and grossly excessive. President Trump won – and justice won with him.”
By Sam Dorman
