A New York appeals court throwing out the massive $527 million civil penalty against President Donald Trump was not only "a tremendous victory for the president" but "a victory for the rule of law," according to Judge Andrew Napolitano.
The ruling, issued by a five-judge panel of the appellate division, declared the half-billion-dollar fine "excessive" and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines.
"This is a monumental victory for President Trump and an enormous setback for Letitia James," Napolitano told Newsmax's "National Report," suggesting it could mark the beginning of broader legal trouble for the attorney general.
The penalty was originally imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron, who last year ordered Trump to pay $355 million for allegedly inflating financial statements to lenders and insurers. With interest and penalties, the figure had climbed above $527 million. The appeals court, however, found the disgorgement order went too far, even as it left in place some oversight provisions on the Trump Organization.
The case was politically motivated from the start, recalling that Attorney General Letitia James campaigned on a promise to "get Trump," Napolitano said. He added federal prosecutors are now reviewing whether James acted in "bad faith" when bringing the case — a finding that could open the door to civil rights claims on Trump's behalf.
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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