{"id":2477205,"date":"2025-08-21T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T13:01:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:01:18","slug":"court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Finds NY Judgment Against Trump Unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcourt-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2477205&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A New York appellate court ruled the $515 million civil fraud penalty imposed on former President Donald Trump unconstitutional and threw it out. The penalty originated from a case brought by new York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused Trump of inflating his personal wealth too secure favorable loans. Despite no victims being identified, Judge Arthur Engoron had ordered Trump to pay $354 million plus $100 million in interest. Trump appealed the decision, and the appellate panel described the penalty as excessive and in violation of the Eighth Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>The court&#8217;s decision was divided: some judges agreed Trump was liable but found the penalty too harsh,others believed the case should be dismissed or require a new trial. The ruling came amid criticisms that the case was politically motivated and part of lawfare aimed at damaging Trump&#8217;s 2024 presidential campaign. Both Democratic and Republican figures, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo and political commentators, have criticized the prosecution as unjust and highly political. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >controversy highlights ongoing debates<\/a> about the legal and political challenges facing Trump ahead of the election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3MClojQYzNY\">CBS News\/ Youtube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/21\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional-throws-out-515m-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Court%20Finds%20NY%20Judgment%20Against%20Trump%20Unconstitutional,%20Throws%20Out%20%24515M%20Penalty&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/21\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional-throws-out-515m-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Court%20Finds%20NY%20Judgment%20Against%20Trump%20Unconstitutional,%20Throws%20Out%20%24515M%20Penalty&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/21\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional-throws-out-515m-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/21\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional-throws-out-515m-penalty\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Court%20Finds%20NY%20Judgment%20Against%20Trump%20Unconstitutional,%20Throws%20Out%20%24515M%20Penalty&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/21\/court-finds-ny-judgment-against-trump-unconstitutional-throws-out-515m-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A New York appellate court tossed out the &ldquo;unconstitutional&rdquo; civil fraud penalty imposed against President Donald Trump by Judge Arthur Engoron in the politically motivated case that sought to kneecap Trump&rsquo;s ability to campaign in 2024. <\/p>\n<p>Trump was accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating his personal wealth to get more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/review-the-last-emperor-of-mexico\/\" title=\"REVIEW: \u2018The Last Emperor of Mexico\u2019\">favorable loan terms<\/a>. Despite no victims, Engoron ordered Trump to pay &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/live-updates\/trump-fraud-trial\/trump-intends-to-deliver-part-of-closing-himself-say-sources-106237800?id=103642561&amp;entryId=106288450&amp;os=tmb&amp;ref=app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$354 million<\/a>&nbsp;plus an additional $100 million in interest. Trump posted a $175 million&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/04\/01\/politics\/trump-bond-civil-fraud-trial\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bond<\/a>&nbsp;in April of 2024 and appealed the ruling. The penalty, after accruing interest, hit a whopping $515 million, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3776912\/new-york-appeals-court-trump-civil-fraud-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1631664197\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The split five-judge panel of the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, in their <a href=\"https:\/\/nycourts.gov\/courts\/AD1\/calendar\/AppsMots\/2025\/apps\/20250821\/2023-04925,%20et%20ano..pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a>, called the $464 million verdict &ldquo;excessive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants&rsquo; business culture, the court&rsquo;s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,&rdquo; Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions for the court.<\/p>\n<p>Moulton, however, contends that the &ldquo;Supreme Court correctly found defendants liable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Justice Renwick and I] agree with Supreme Court that the Attorney General acted well within her lawful power in bringing this action, and that she vindicated a public interest in doing so,&rdquo; Moulton wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Justices John R. Higgitt and Llin&eacute;t M. Rosado argued that the Supreme Court made error that would require a new trial (though Higgitt ultimately agreed James had the power to bring the suit).<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Justice David Friedman argued that James had no power to bring this case and would dismiss the entire complaint outright.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I find it remarkable that, although a three-justice majority of this five-justice panel believe that the judgement in favor of the Attorney General should not stand, as [James] has not carried her burden of proving a violation of the statute, the result of the appeal is the affirmance of the judgement, albeit as modified to eliminate the disgorgement award.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Friedman added that ordering a new trial &mdash; as proposed by Higgitt and Rosado &mdash; would be difficult and have consequence given Trump is the sitting president. <\/p>\n<p>The decision comes 11 months after legal arguments were heard. <\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s team challenged the penalty, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/27\/ny-judges-scrutinize-troubling-450-million-penalty-in-trump-fraud-case-no-one-lost-any-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arguing before the Court<\/a> in September that the case was, in part, a &ldquo;clear-cut violation of the statute of limitations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Several justices signaled they were receptive to Trump&rsquo;s legal team&rsquo;s argument, with Justice Rosado questioning how the penalty was calculated. Justice Moulton also asked New York Deputy Solicitor General Judith Vale about the &ldquo;troubling&rdquo; penalty.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The immense penalty in this case is troubling,&rdquo; Moulton said. &ldquo;How do you tether the amount that was assessed by the Supreme Court to the harm that was caused here where parties left these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-judges-scrutinize-troubling-penalty-in-trump-fraud-case\/\" title=\"NY Judges Scrutinize &#039;Troubling&#039; ... In ... Fraud ...\">transactions happy &#038;hellip<\/a>; ?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The case received bipartisan rebuke, given that there were no victims and, as pointed out by The Federalist&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/26\/new-yorks-fraud-judgment-against-trump-is-so-bad-even-his-biggest-critics-arent-defending-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark Hemingway<\/a>, &ldquo;Trump paid back the loans, and everyone made money.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>CNN political commentator Jonah Goldberg <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/01\/11\/jonah-goldberg-trump-civil-trial-politicized\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the &ldquo;prosecution &hellip; a mistake&rdquo; and &ldquo;very political.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo argued the case was also the result of political lawfare.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If his name was not Donald Trump, and if he wasn&rsquo;t running for president, I&rsquo;m the former AG in New York, I&rsquo;m telling you that case would have never been brought, and that&rsquo;s what is offensive to people,&rdquo; Cuomo&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/06\/22\/andrew-cuomo-trump-civil-fraud-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said during<\/a>&nbsp;a June appearance on <em>Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, James <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-fraud-new-york-letitia-james-lawsuit-a3a2c2569440c24bd5c5262103cb8390#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">campaigned<\/a> on using lawfare to target Trump and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/09\/21\/james-lawsuit-trump-longstanding-battle-00058128\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a>&nbsp;him an &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D1yj0NKSsuU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">illegitimate president<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/andrew-cuomo\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Andrew Cuomo<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/arthur-engoron\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Arthur Engoron<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/civil-fraud\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">civil fraud<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">CNN<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawfare\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawfare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Letitia James<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Credit CBS News\/ Youtube Share A NY court overturned Trump&#8217;s &#8220;unconstitutional&#8221; fraud penalty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2477206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/letitia-jaes-scaled-e1755790928532.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33740,61696,3634,5803],"class_list":["post-2477205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court-ruling","tag-ny-judgment","tag-trump","tag-unconstitutional"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/letitia-jaes-scaled-e1755790928532.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2477205"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477209,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477205\/revisions\/2477209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2477206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2477205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2477205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2477205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}