Donald Trump appealed his $454 million New York civil fraud judgment, challenging a judge's finding that Trump lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency. The former president's lawyers filed a notice of appeal Monday, February 26, asking the state's mid-level appeals court to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron's February 16 verdict in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit.
Trump's lawyers wrote in court papers that they're asking the appeals court to decide whether Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact" and whether he abused his discretion and/or his jurisdiction.
Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. Among other penalties, the judge put strict limitations on the ability of Trump's company, the Trump Organization, to do business.
The appeal ensures that the legal fight over Trump's business practices will persist into the thick of the presidential primary season, and likely beyond, as he tries to clinch the Republican presidential nomination in his quest to retake the White House.
If upheld, Engoron's ruling will force Trump to give up a sizable chunk of his fortune. Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties, but with interest the total has grown to nearly $454 million. That total will increase by nearly $112,000 per day until he pays.
Trump maintains that he is worth several billion dollars and testified last year that he had about $400 million in cash, in addition to properties and other investments. James, a Democrat, told ABC News that if Trump is unable to pay, she will seek to seize some of his assets.
Trump's appeal was expected. Trump had vowed to appeal and his lawyers had been laying the groundwork for months by objecting frequently to Engoron's handling of the trial. Trump said Engoron's decision, the costliest consequence of his recent legal troubles, was "election interference" and "weaponization against a political opponent."
Trump wasn't able to appeal the decision immediately because the clerk's office at Engoron's courthouse had to file paperwork known as a judgment to make it official. That was done on Friday. Trump's appeal is likely to focus on Engoron, whom Trump's lawyers have accused of "tangible and overwhelming" bias, as well as objections to the legal mechanics involved in James' lawsuit.
The appeal is one of Trump's many legal challenges. He has been indicted on criminal charges four times in the last year. He is accused in Georgia and Washington, DC, of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. In Florida, he is charged with hoarding classified documents. He is scheduled to go on trial next month in Manhattan for falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels on his behalf.
In January, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. That's on top of the $5 million a jury awarded Carroll in a related trial last year.