New York AG Asks Judge to Make Trump Pay $370 Million in Fraud Trial

AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) asked the judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump for a $370 million penalty, well exceeding the previous estimate of $250 million before the latest phase of the trial began.

In a filing on Friday, James said that the trial to determine Trump’s ultimate penalty “had demonstrated that he had gained that amount through unlawful conduct.”

Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were found liable for inflating their net worth in exchange for better treatment from banks and insurers in a summary judgment in October. The current trial is to determine penalties for Trump, his sons, and his company. James initially sought a penalty of $250 million and a ban on Trump’s practicing business in New York.

The trial isn’t quite over as both sides are set to deliver closing arguments next week. James’s request came in a post-trial filing and referred to evidence presented so far during the trial. While Trump’s attorneys have not yet provided a response to James, they said in their own post-trial filing that the AG “has woefully failed to prove her case and is not entitled to any of the relief.”

The fraud trial has been used as a campaign tool for Trump and his behavior during the trial has resulted in a partial gag order being placed on him. James, Judge Arthur Engoron, his wife, and courthouse staff have been relentlessly attacked and threatened by Trump and, as a result, his supporters. Pundits and observers have noted that while this is only a civil trial, the matter of Trump’s business empire is more important to him than anything else, which also accounts for his regular presence in the courtroom despite not being required to attend.

This story is breaking and has been updated.