Donald Trump Did Not Take His Legal Defeat Well – Former President Donald Trump responded to his latest legal defeat in a way that only he knows how: by blaming it on politics.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled against the Trump organization on Tuesday after state Attorney General Letitia James accused the Republican president of inflating the value of properties for financial gain.
As part of the ruling, Judge Engoron determined that Trump had overvalued his Mar-a-Lago home by 2,300% while claiming his New York penthouse at Trump Tower was three times its actual size.
Lawyers for the former president labeled the ruling as a “miscarriage of justice” indicating their intent to appeal.
Trump, however, took matters into his own hands on his social media platform Truth Social.
Donald Trump Slams The Justice System… Again
Akin to many, if not all, of the legal challenges against him, Trump called out the “highly politicized Democrat judge” for ruling against him. “It is a terrible reminder that the radical left Democrats will stop at nothing in trying to prevent me, and the American people, from winning the 2024 presidential election,” Trump said in a series of posts. “Regardless of party, we cannot let this happen in the United States of America.”
Some of Trump’s properties were overvalued by as much as $2.2 billion, according to court filings. Such a move would guarantee larger loans and lower insurance rates than otherwise received.
“I am worth much more than the numbers shown on my financial statements,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I didn’t even include my most valuable asset, my brand. There were no victims!”
On Wednesday, Trump continued his tirade. He accused Judge Engoron of having “made up this crazy ‘KILL TRUMP’ decision, assigning insanely low values to properties, despite overwhelming evidence. [sic]”
“[The judge’s] anger & hatred is politically motivated & unprecedented by those who watched!” Trump continued, before vowing to appeal the decision. “It is a great company that has been slandered and maligned by this politically motivated witch hunt,” Trump wrote. “It is unfair, and I call for help from the highest court in New York State, or the federal system, to intercede. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”
The four-times indicted president, facing 91 criminal charges, falsely claimed that violent crime in New York City had risen over the past year, despite NYPD data suggesting the contrary. “Today’s ruling about a company that has done a magnificent job for New York State fails to acknowledge the fact that murder and all other forms of violent crime have reached record levels in New York state,” Trump said on Tuesday. “A very sad day for the New York state System of Justice!”
Under the order by Judge Engoron, certain business certificates filed by the Trumps have been canceled. “Without a corporate charter, you can’t operate as a corporation. You can’t get loans, you can’t apply for a government contract,” financial crimes prosecutor Diana Florence told Insider. “It’s comparable to once a person dies. A dead person can’t sell property. Only the executor of the estate can do that — or in this case, the receiver.”
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist based in Canada. He has written for the Western Standard, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo, and has covered notable events including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
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