Trump's Court Loss in NY Called 'Corporate Death Penalty,' And It's as Bad as It Sounds
Multiple New York state officials abused their power and debased the law to harm someone they hate.
Democratic Judge Arthur Engoron’s Tuesday ruling against former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization amounts to political vengeance only.
Alas, the ruling has consequences. According to Newsweek, several legal commentators described it as the “corporate death penalty.”
Based on his finding that Trump inflated the value of assets to secure loans and other advantages, Engoron ordered cancellation of Trump’s business licenses in New York.
Parts of Engoron’s ruling, however, appeared confusing.
According to Newsweek, Engoron also ordered “that the parties recommend independent receivers to oversee the dissolution of the businesses.”
At the same time, Newsweek described the ruling as “somewhat ambiguous,” for “it does not explicitly order that Trump’s businesses be dissolved.” It merely calls for “the naming of receivers who would oversee any dissolution.”
We should not read anything into the ambiguity. Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James meant to “get” Trump. That is the whole story.
Although she functions as a state attorney general, James brought a civil suit seeking $250 million in damages.
The case has no alleged victims. Thus, it remains unclear exactly whom Trump defrauded.
Since Engoron issued only a partial ruling, a trial will begin on Oct. 2.
Trump’s attorneys, of course, plan to appeal.
“Today’s decision is fundamentally flawed at every level,” Trump attorney Alina Habba told Newsweek.
“It is important to remember that the Trump Organization is an American success story. The fact that this Court summarily found that there is no question of fact, finding in part that Mar-a-Lago is worth approximately $20 million and issue a decision of this magnitude is an affront to our legal system.”
“An affront to our legal system” puts it mildly.
Habba cited the “approximately $20 million” valuation Engoron placed on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
That random and laughable estimate drew the ire of Eric Trump, the former president’s son, whom the ruling also affected.
Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, Eric Trump showed that neighboring properties — in most cases only a fraction of Mar-a-Lago’s size — had listing prices between $40 and 60 million.
These homes are about 1/30 the size of Mar-a-Lago, not on the beach (let alone the beach and intercostal), don’t span from once side of the Palm Beach Island to the other… it is a travesty of justice and an embarrassment to the court. pic.twitter.com/d59nEsTtwo
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) September 26, 2023
For context, in 2022 Forbes estimated the property’s value at $350 million.
In an email to supporters on Thursday, the former president summarized Engoron’s ruling.
“My civil rights have been ripped from my hands,” Trump wrote.
“There was no trial … There was no jury … “
That sort of thing used to happen only in other countries.
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