George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley on Friday criticized a judge for his treatment of former President Donald Trump in his New York civil fraud case.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron issued a judgment of over $450 million that Trump is having difficulty posting a bond for because his assets are mainly real estate. Rather than requiring Trump to pay the full judgment before his appeal, Engoron could allow him to pay $100 million in cash and negotiate other terms, such as not selling his assets, to post the bond, but the judge is neglecting to be reasonable, Turley asserted on “Fox & Friends.” (RELATED: ‘Don’t Want To Get In The Crosshairs’: Turley Says Banks Don’t Want To Be Letitia James’ ‘Next Target’)
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“If the court was really concerned about whether Trump would be honest in future dealings, they could have just imposed a monitor,” Turley asserted. “Instead he imposes this ridiculous amount of penalty on Trump. He could have picked any figure because none of us could make sense out of this. He could have said a trillion dollars and he just sits back and watches the defendant scramble to have to sell off properties in order to protect properties. And, you know, this is going to eventually have to go to some judge who is going to say enough. I mean, this really shocks the conscience.”
Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York sued Trump for allegedly falsifying his company’s assets to receive loans for business ventures, with the New York Supreme Court’s Trial Division issuing the $454 million ruling on Feb. 23.
New York AG Letitia James Takes First Step Toward Seizing Trump’s Assets https://t.co/astC8U3Mya
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 21, 2024
“What’s happening to the New York legal system is truly alarming,” Turley said. “This was one of the premier systems in the world for businesses and now people are fleeing New York. They see what’s happening here. And, you know, this is a judge who could have resolved this. He could have come up with an easy solution.”
Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth to be $2.6 billion, mostly consisting of “hard” assets, such as commercial property. The former president’s attorneys indicated in a Monday filing that bond insurance companies strongly prefer cash over real estate.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 25: Former President Donald Trump sits in court with attorneys Alina Habba and Christopher Kise during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 25, 2023 in New York City. The former president may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Photo by Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images)
“This is a – this is just because of Trump’s portfolio being real estate. It’s the nature of his business. But those are fixed assets. Trump Tower isn’t going to go anywhere. He’s not going to abscond with it. They can take the $100 million that he has offered and then take other agreements that he won’t sell or change his interest in these fixed assets. That – anyone looking at that would say well, yeah. That seems fair. But that’s not the profile of this case. This judge has done nothing to introduce any element of fairness through this. And so you’re really between a rock and a hard place if you’re Donald Trump. You’ve got a portfolio with real estate and people don’t take real estate to float a bond.”
James suggested in a Wednesday court filing that Trump should try to obtain bonds from multiple entities and that the former president did not prove his inability to cover it.
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