New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's message to state business owners following the $355 million fine given to former President Donald Trump is that there's "nothing to worry about."
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Judge Arthur Engoron, who, like the governor, is a Democrat, on Friday ordered Trump to pay the enormous fine after deciding the former president, the Trump Organization, top executives, and his adult sons are liable for fraud.
During a Sunday appearance on "The Cats Roundtable" radio show, Hochul was asked by host John Catsimatidis whether other New York businesspeople should be worried that if "they can do that to the former president, they can do that to anybody."
"I think that this is really an extraordinary, unusual circumstance that the law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are business people have nothing to worry about, because they're very different than Donald Trump and his behavior," Hochul told Catsimatidis.
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"By and large, they [New York business owners] are honest people, and they're not trying to hide their assets, and they're following the rules.
"And so this judge determined that Donald Trump did not follow the rules. He was prosecuted and truly, the governor of the state of New York does not have a say in the size of a fine, and we want to make sure that we don't have that level of interference."
In saying she could not overrule Engoron's decision, Hochul added "we need a clear separation of powers," and "that's what was envisioned by our Founding Fathers."
Engoron's decision came after a trial in which New York Attorney General Letitia James vowing to get Trump, charged the former president, his company and executives, including his two eldest sons, with scheming to dupe banks, insurers, and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements.
While Hochul insisted businesspeople should not worry, some New York companies may find themselves failing to receive needed shipments of goods. That's because truckers who support Trump say they will refuse to drive loads to and from New York City following the verdict.
One trucker took to social media Friday night and posted a video in which he expressed fellow truckers' outrage at the verdict.
"I've been on the radio for over an hour and I've talked to at least (10) Truckers who are gonna start refusing loads of Monday for (NYC) ... I talked to (3) guys that I work with who texted the boss and told him no (NYC)," Chicago Ray posted on X in a since deleted post.
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