Court Upholds Fraud Charges
Trump Hails "Great Victory" as New York Attorney General Plans Appeal
The New York Court of Appeals in the United States on August 21 (local time) overturned the $464 million (approximately 650 billion won) fraud loan-related fine that had been imposed on President Donald Trump. However, the court upheld the finding that Trump had inflated the value of assets such as the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
On this day, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the amount of the fine in President Trump's fraud loan case was "unconstitutionally excessive" and decided to cancel it.
However, the court maintained that the fraud charges themselves were valid. As a result, the sanctions barring President Trump's two sons from participating in business management in New York for a certain period remain in effect. In addition, the order requiring submission of financial records to an independent monitor also continues to be enforced.
President Trump and the Trump Organization were sued in September 2022 by New York Attorney General Letitia James in a civil case, accused of inflating asset values to secure favorable terms from banks and insurance companies. In February last year, the trial court found Trump guilty and imposed a $355 million fine, which increased to $515 million with interest. The $4 million fines each imposed on his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his second son, Eric Trump, were also overturned in the appeals court, nullifying a total of $527 million in fines.
Attorney General James immediately announced her intention to appeal, so the final decision is expected to be made by the New York State Supreme Court.
After the ruling, President Trump posted on his self-created social networking service, Truth Social, calling it "a great victory for America" and stating, "I respect the courage of the court in overturning an illegal and shameful decision that hurt businesses across New York State."
The New York Times (NYT) reported that while the ruling delivered "a financial victory for President Trump," the upholding of the fraud charges was "a shameful mark on a sitting U.S. president."
Since his successful re-election, President Trump has been shedding legal burdens one after another. The U.S. Department of Justice dropped two criminal cases in accordance with its long-standing principle of not indicting a sitting president. President Trump was also convicted of paying "hush money" to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up a past sexual encounter, but was not sentenced to prison.
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