Turley exposes the 'poison pill' in Trump fraud ruling, warns that Trump may lose even if he wins the appeals



Law professor Jonathan Turley warned this week that New York Justice Arthur Engoron's $455 million fine against Donald Trump contains a "poison pill."

Setting aside the "unprecedented" application of the New York statute that was used against Trump in the civil fraud case, Turley highlighted in a new essay how Engoron's ruling contains an "added inequity."

That inequity, Turley explained, is a requirement that Trump put up bond if he wants to appeal the ruling.

"Under New York law, Trump cannot appeal this ruling without depositing the full amount, including interest, in a court account. Even for Trump, $455 million is hard to come by," Turley wrote in the New York Post. "Likewise, a bond would require a company to guarantee payment for a defendant who has been barred from doing business in New York and is facing the need to liquidate much of his portfolio.

"Nothing succeeds like excess for judges like Engoron. By imposing this astronomical figure, he can make it difficult or impossible for a defendant to appeal, absent declaring bankruptcy or selling off assets at distress prices," the legal scholar explained.

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In fact, according to Turley, Trump will ultimately lose a large sum of money — even if he wins an appeal.

He explained on Fox News:

It looks like you're trying to appeal a court order to take your home, but you have to sell your home to appeal the order. And I don’t think that Trump is going to have to liquidate assets, particularly if he goes on the bond route. But to keep up the bond, you lose part of that money, so it would cost him a great deal of money, even if he were to win. But by making this judgment so large, the judge makes it difficult to appeal his decision and it guarantees that Trump will lose considerable money even if he wins.

Trump, meanwhile, can ask the court to waive or lower the bond amount. Turley said the judge should consider doing that because of the legal circumstances of the case.

"This really gets into a point where it's coercive for parties, where it becomes confiscatory," he said. "You actually have to engage in a fire sale at distress prices in order to cover the deposit just to get someone to look at the judgment of one judge."

A compromise, however, seems unlikely as New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is already threatening to seize Trump's assets.

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MSNBC host shocks panel with single question challenging the narrative celebrating $355 million ruling against Trump



MSNBC host Katy Tur surprised her show guests on Friday by questioning whether former President Donald Trump received a fair shake in New York.

On Friday, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in a civil fraud case. The total penalty, when interest is calculated, is approximately $450 million. New York Attorney General Letitia James — a Democrat who campaigned on targeting Trump — celebrated the judge's unprecedented and highly controversial penalty.

To frame her question, Tur cited an Associated Press analysis that exposed the unprecedented nature of the case and how New York's treatment of Trump is incongruent with past cases. She explained:

They went back over 70 years and looked at all the cases that have been tried under this rule — [New York Civil Practice Law] 6312, which is used here — which doesn't have to show harm done. That's not the burden. You don't have to show that anybody was hurt by your practices. There's nobody you defrauded specifically.

They went back and they looked at cases over 70 years — I believe it's about 150 cases — and found there was no case where there was a ban on doing business where there wasn't harm shown. So even though the threshold is "harm shown," in the past, it has only been used to ban someone doing business when it's been shown that somebody was hurt — say you're selling cosmetics that are poisoning you. There's somebody that was hurt there; the cosmetics company gets banned.

"Is this fair to go after Donald Trump like this in this environment, is my question," Tur said.

The camera then panned to MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin and New York Times reporter Susanne Craig, both of whom appeared flabbergasted that Tur dared to ask that question.

Neither Rubin nor Craig answered Tur's question. Instead, Rubin directed Tur to ask former New York Assistant Attorney General Tristan Snell.

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Snell, who prosecuted Trump over Trump University, argued the evidence in the fraud cause "went way over" the legal threshold, which is why the judge issued high penalties.

Later, Craig defended big banks — which Trump allegedly defrauded — as the "victims." But Tur immediately made an inconvenient observation.

"Listen, I'm not arguing in anyone's defense; they have said they didn't feel like they lost," Tur pointed out of the banks with which Trump did business.

New York real estate developers are concerned about the implications of the ruling because it's an open secret that every business does what Trump did: get the highest possible value for your properties while, at the same time, trying to minimize tax liabilities.

It's why businessman Kevin O'Leary described the outcome as "un-American." O'Leary said if the court system were fair, they would punish "every real estate developer on Earth."

Fortunately for New York real estate developers not named Trump, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has assured them that there is "nothing to worry about."

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Kevin O'Leary leaves CNN host astonished after dismantling New York attorney general's civil case against Trump: 'This is a joke'



Businessman Kevin O'Leary told CNN host Laura Coates on Thursday that "every" real estate developer is guilty of the alleged real-estate fraud that Donald Trump is found to have committed.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is suing Trump, alleging the Trump Organization repeatedly overvalued its properties to lenders while reporting different property values to tax officials. A judge has already ruled that Trump committed fraud. The questions that remain in the case are how much the Trump Organization will be fined and what it means for future business.

Many people believe James pursued the case with political motives, an assessment O'Leary appears to agree with. In fact, he told Coates that every real estate developer everywhere is guilty of what Trump did.

O'Leary explained:

So, if you're a developer and you've got a building on a block anywhere in America and it's worth, let's say, $500 million and you want to build a building right beside it, you go to the bank and say, "This building is worth $500 million. I'd like to borrow a construction finance loan against this asset, and I want you to tell me it's worth 500 million, too." The bank negotiates with you and says, "Well, no, we think it's worth $400 million," and you fight it out.

You're always trying to show your assets in the brightest light with the sunshine you can possibly determine for them. You want them to be worth the very most because you're only going to get a 40% or 50% loan-to-value, as it's called. Then you borrow that money. In the case of a $500 million asset, maybe you get $250 million, and you build a new building with a construction finance loan.

"Forget about Trump: Every single real estate developer everywhere on Earth does this," O'Leary said.

The concern, then, should be who lost money? "Nobody," according to O'Leary, because the Trump Organization paid its bank loans. Thus, if James were to be consistent, she would sue "every real estate developer" in her jurisdiction, he said.

"If you're a real estate developer, you're watching this, you're saying, 'What is this? This is ridiculous!'" he said. "This is, for real estate developers, this is a joke."

The explanation, disarming the substance of James' case against Trump, left Coates shocked.

"It's fascinating to me to hear this perspective because you don't often hear it from that particular angle," she said.

"The first question, is everybody doing it in real estate? Yes, everybody is doing it, not only domestically, all around the world. This is how it works," O'Leary responded.

Closing arguments in the civil case took place on Thursday. James is asking a judge to fine Trump $370 million, but a final ruling is not expected for weeks. Even then, Trump will appeal the ruling.

For his part, O'Leary told Coates he believes the case will not survive an appeal.

'Every real estate developer everywhere does this': Kevin O'Leary reacts to Trump civil fraud case www.youtube.com

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