South Carolina led a coalition of 15 states that filed a brief supporting former President Donald Trump's appeal of a New York court ordering him to pay roughly $500 million for making false real estate statements.
Trump last week pressed a New York appeals court to overturn the civil fraud judgment that threatens to drain his personal cash reserves as he campaigns to retake the White House.
The fine, imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron in a civil case against Trump and The Trump Organization, originally was for $355 million. It has grown due to accrued interest.
"Our brief isn't about Donald Trump, it's about upholding the rule of law and the Constitution," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement Friday. "We argue that this award is an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment and also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
The citizens of South Carolina and the other states in this coalition conduct business in New York, primarily New York City, the brief states, "and they need confidence that their customary business dealings in New York will not subject them to devastating fines. The Supreme Court's disgorgement order will have a chilling effect on business conducted by citizens of amici states."
Other states that joined the amicus brief are Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
The brief asserts that Engoron's fine violates the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
"The approximately $355 million disgorgement against President Trump was an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment," the brief stated.
Moreover, the coalition of states' brief suggested that it is universally "undisputed that defendants have made all required [loan] payments on time," noting that Trump's alleged misconduct did not result in direct financial harm to the banks or insurance companies.
Separately, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also seeking to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in Trump’s separate criminal case in New York City after the former president was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide money payments given to an adult film star before the presidential election in 2016.
Bailey has said constituents in his state are being "denied access" to Trump as a candidate due to a limited gag order imposed on the former president in the case, the Washington Examiner reported.