New York Attorney General Letitia James took a victory lap for the press following the fraud ruling against former President Donald Trump.
James made the celebratory comments during a press conference at her offices in Manhattan on Friday.
“Today, justice has been served. Today we proved that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful or politically connected you are,” said James at a press conference on Friday after the ruling.
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Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
“The scale and the scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering and so too is his ego,” said James. “And his belief that the rules do not apply to him. Today, we are holding Donald Trump accountable.”
The attorney general said the former president had executed deceptive business practices and engaged in tremendous fraud.
James said, “Donald Trump may have authored ‘The Art of the Deal,’ but he perfect the art of the steal.'”
Trump blasted “clubhouse politician” Judge Arthur Engoron Friday after he barred him from operating his business in New York for three years and fined him more than $350 million, defending the “great company” he built and telling Fox News Digital that the ruling is yet another example of Democrats “trying to stop” him, but that “they will not be successful.”
Engoron handed down his ruling Friday after a months-long civil fraud trial beginning in October and stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit alleging the former president inflated his assets and committed fraud.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, attends a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City. (Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty Images)
“A crooked New York judge working with the very corrupt attorney general of New York State, who ran on the basis of ‘I will get Trump’ before knowing me — before even knowing anything about me — just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355 million based on absolutely nothing,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “No victims. No damages. Great financial statements, with full disclaimer clauses, only success.”
In September, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building a real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
In Engoron’s 92-page ruling, he criticized Trump and his testimony during the trial, saying that he “rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.”
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City. (ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years.
James brought the lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices. The court proceedings were contentious, with Engoron repeatedly placing Trump under a partial gag order to prevent him from criticizing court staff.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
