(StraightNews.org) – A New York court has refused any leeway to Donald Trump and would not accept his offer of $100 million to stop the clock on a $355 million fine imposed on the former president. Judge Arthur Engoron fined Donald Trump after finding he had lied about the value of his assets when conducting business deals in the Big Apple. Attorney General Letitia James intends to collect the fine by March 25 and said she will seize Trump’s real estate assets if he does not pay.
Judge Anil Singh of New York State’s mid-level appeals court rejected Trump’s $100 million offer, but he did place a temporary pause on Engoron’s condition that Mr. Trump not be permitted to borrow from financial institutions in the Empire State. Trump’s lawyers argued that the ban meant he would have to sell assets to pay the fine and would not be able to re-obtain these after the court case.
Furthermore, interest accrues on the penalty at a rate of almost $87,000 per day. Trump’s legal team intends to appeal the ruling, but New York law states they must deposit the total amount of the fine first. It has already jumped by $100 million since the court decision.
Letitia James, who tweets the growing fine as the clock ticks, has faced criticism for unprofessionalism. Some legal experts wonder why she took the case against the former President when none of his business associates had complained about their dealings with him.
For example, former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said James is clearly politically motivated and should face professional censure. “She ought to be brought up before the bar,” he said. Dershowitz added that James is “protecting the biggest banks in the country,” and said they would have filed their own lawsuits against Trump if they had been defrauded. He said the former President’s attorneys should argue for James’ removal from the case due to her bias and unprofessional conduct.
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