On Friday, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered former President Donald Trump to pay roughly $355 million and suffer other punitive measures in the civil fraud case New York Attorney General Letitia James subjected to him.
Trump reacted to the order during a campaign rally speech in Michigan on Saturday in which he denounced the judge as a "lunatic" driven by corrupt partisan bias and personal hatred against him and his namesake business, the Washington Examiner reported.
The former president also unleashed his fury against AG James and other prosecutors who've brought criminal cases against him, including Special Counsel Jack Smith at the federal level and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williams in Georgia.
NBC News reported Friday that Judge Engoron, in a 92-page decision, ordered former President Trump and the Trump Organization to pay approximately $355 million in damages to the state for purportedly manipulating the stated value of various assets in applying for bank loans or tax purposes.
According to AG James, the total owed to the state by Trump is closer to $450 million when pre-judgment interest is factored in, and in a gloating speech delivered after the decision was handed down, warned that the amount would "continue to increase every single day" with additional interest and penalties until it was paid in full.
On top of the damages due, Engoron also prohibited Trump from holding any leadership position with any business in New York state for three years, including his namesake organization, and barred him and the company from applying for any bank loans for the same period.
The judge further ordered an "independent monitor" and "independent director of compliance" be appointed and installed at the Trump Organization. And, as if that weren't enough, Engoron also ordered Trump's eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, to each pay more than $4 million in fines plus interest and similarly barred them from holding leadership positions in their own family business or any other entity in New York for two years.
"The decision yesterday in New York, you may have read about it," former President Trump told the crowd at his Michigan rally on Saturday, according to the Examiner. "He’s a crooked judge. By a radical left-wing judge, who is a lawless and unconstitutional atrocity that sets fire to our laws like no one has ever seen in this country before."
"This judge is a lunatic, and if you’ve ever watched him, and the attorney general may be worse, may be worse," he continued about AG James. "You ever watch her? 'I will get Donald Trump.' Her campaign, 'I will get Donald Trump. I promise I will get him.' She knows nothing about me, nothing about me."
Trump also took a few moments to turn his attention to Special Counsel Smith and Fulton County DA Willis, both of whom have criminally charged him for alleged interference and other crimes during and after the 2020 election.
He reiterated his oft-repeated accusation that Smith is "deranged" for seeking to criminalize his actions as the president and swiftly prosecute him ahead of November's election, and called "bulls--t" on Willis' claims of innocence against accusations that she financially benefited from a previously undisclosed romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired in the case.
"This Election Interference and tyrannical Abuse of Power by a Crooked Judge and Crooked Attorney General cannot be tolerated. My case was already won in the Appellate Division, and more than 80% of the frivolous claims were wiped out," Trump said in a statement Friday. "Yet, as I suspected, and in order to hurt me and the Republican Party politically, Crooked and Corrupt Judge Arthur Engoron ignored his loss at the Appellate Division, and came up with an outrageous $355 Million Dollar fine against me."
"There were no victims, and not one person testified there was any fraud. The actual witnesses established my Net Worth exceeded that reported in my Financial Statements as those Statements never included my most valuable Asset -- the TRUMP Brand. The Highly Respected Expert Witness said my Financial Statements were among the best he has ever seen," he continued. "I paid over $300 Million Dollars in taxes to New York City and State, and they want me gone. They are Crazed Lunatics who are destroying everything in their way. It all starts with Biden’s attacks on his Political Opponent!"
Trump added, "This shocking and corrupt Interference in the Free Markets for political gain places every New York business transaction at risk. We must make sure Corrupt Politicians and Judges cannot continue to abuse the power of their office, and violate the public trust. We have already won, and will continue the fight on appeal!"
