Closing summary
It’s been an expensive day in court for Donald Trump, who was on the wrong end of a $350m judgment from a New York judge for financial fraud committed by the Trump Organization.
We’re closing our live coverage of developments now, but here are the highlights (or lowlights, if you’re the former president) of the day’s events.
It wasn’t only a significant financial penalty against Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr, and their associates, for intentionally committing fraud by falsifying government disclosures. Judge Arthur Engoron banned the former president from serving as an officer or director or any New York corporation or entity for three years and his sons for two. The full ruling is here.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said Trump ‘“perfected the art of the steal”, a mocking reference to his best-selling book Art of the Deal. “This long running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal, and he did it all of this with the help of the other defendants, his two adult sons, and senior executives at the Trump Organization,” James said at a Friday evening press conference in Manhattan. “The scale and the scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering. And so too is his ego, and his belief that the rules do not apply to him.”
Trump lashed out at James and Engoron in a wild and freewheeling rant from the steps of his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida. He accused them of being corrupt, and repeated baseless allegations that Joe Biden and Democrats were driving several legal cases against him. “It’s a witch hunt against his political opponent, the likes of which our country has never seen before. This is Russia. This is China,” he said.
Buried in Engoron’s almost-100 page judgment was a questioning of the truthfulness of the former president’s daughter and ex-adviser Ivanka Trump. She was earlier removed as a party in the fraud case, drew criticism for consistently repeating “I don’t recall’” during depositions. “Ivanka Trump was a thoughtful, articulate, and poised witness, but the court found her inconsistent recall, depending on whether she was questioned by OAG [Office of the Attorney General] or the defense, suspect,” Engoron wrote.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that the ruling was a “manifest injustice” and “culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch-hunt” against him. “This is not just about Donald Trump. If this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business,” Habba said, adding that she plans to appeal.
You can find our news report of the day’s events here:
Updated
Social media wasted little time in mocking Donald Trump, whom some analysts believe might have to sell some of his portfolio of properties to satisfy the $350m penalty for fraud handed down Friday by New York judge Arthur Engoron.
The Lincoln Project, a conservative group opposed to the former president, posted a picture of his flagship Trump Tower in Manhattan decked out as a Spirit Halloween store.
BREAKING: Trump Org pic.twitter.com/H82Pu4sX3H
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) February 16, 2024
The same building was also targeted by others who reposted pictures of it undergoing a liquidation sale:
Trump Tower pic.twitter.com/M4aaSDnnKw
— Bill M. 🟧 (@wilg111) February 16, 2024
As well as the financial obligation from today’s verdict, Trump also owes writer E Jean Carroll, whom he sexually assaulted in the 1970s, $83.3m from a defamation case ruling last month.
