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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trump's civil fraud fine thrown out by New York appeals court
A New York state appeals court on Thursday threw out an approximately half-billion-dollar penalty that Donald Trump had been ordered to pay after a judge found the US president fraudulently overstated the value of his properties and other assets to bolster his family business. The decision by a five-judge panel of the appellate division in Manhattan represented a defeat for New York attorney general Letitia James, whose office brought the civil fraud lawsuit against Mr Trump in 2022. Ms James's case had been among Mr Trump's biggest legal losses in a slew of lawsuits against him in recent years. Lawyers for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ms James's office did not immediately respond to similar requests. READ MORE The appeals court was splintered. Two judges found Mr Trump was properly held liable, and Ms James 'vindicated a public interest' by pursuing her fraud case, but the penalty was an excessive fine that violated the US Constitution. Two other judges also found Ms James had authority to sue, but a new trial was necessary because the trial judge should not have held Mr Trump liable for fraud at the outset. The fifth judge said the case against Mr Trump should have been dismissed. Mr Trump was appealing a judgment entered by judge Arthur Engoron in a state court in Manhattan, following a three-month non-jury trial. Judge Engoron found Mr Trump had inflated his wealth over several years before first becoming president in 2017, to dupe lenders and insurers into providing better terms to the Trump Organization. Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers argued that the penalty was too high and that Ms James had overreached. In February 2024, the judge ordered Mr Trump to pay $454.2 million in penalties plus interest , which has continued to accrue. Mr Trump was personally liable for nearly 98 per cent of the judgment, with his eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg responsible for the remainder. Referring to Mr Trump and other Trump Organization figures, judge Engoron said their 'complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological'. Judge Engoron also banned Mr Trump and the Trump Organization from applying for loans from banks registered in the state for three years, and effectively barred Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump from running the business for two years. The appeals court put these restrictions on hold during the appeals process, while letting a court-appointed monitor for the Trump Organization continue her work. – Reuters
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Trump administration better-placed than courts to release Epstein files, says judge
A New York judge has said the Trump administration is in a better position than federal courts to release materials that would satisfy public curiosity about the sex trafficking case of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In rejecting the justice department's bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted Epstein in 2019, Manhattan-based US district judge Richard Berman wrote that the 70-odd pages of materials the grand jury saw paled in comparison to the 100,000 pages the government has from its Epstein investigation, but is not releasing. The judge said the bid to persuade him to unseal the records was an apparent distraction from the justice department's decision in July not to release its files and directly cited another judge's decision earlier this month not to release similar materials from the grand jury that indicted Epstein's long-time girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell . 'The instant grand jury motion appears to be a 'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government's possession,' Judge Berman wrote. The justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Judge Berman's decision came as president Donald Trump has faced criticism from his conservative base of supporters and congressional Democrats over the justice department's decision not to release the files from its Epstein investigation. [ Epstein scandal: Letters from famous figures published Opens in new window ] Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. His death in jail and his friendships with wealthy and powerful individuals sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes, and that he had been murdered. Mr Trump, a Republican, had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the justice department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Mr Trump's supporters. To try to quell the discontent, Mr Trump in July instructed attorney general Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein's case. Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. Justice department investigations typically collect more material than prosecutors ultimately present to grand juries. Some of that evidence is at times eventually disclosed to the public during criminal trials. The justice department does not routinely disclose its evidence in cases where a defendant pleads guilty or, like Epstein, never faces trial, but it would not require judicial approval to release such materials. The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and saw a PowerPoint presentation and call logs, Judge Berman wrote. On August 11th, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied the justice department's request to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from Maxwell's case, writing that the material was duplicative of public testimony at her 2021 trial. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. 'A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the government's motion for their unsealing was aimed not at 'transparency' but at diversion - aimed not at full disclosure, but at the illusion of such,' Judge Engelmayer wrote. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she asked the US Supreme Court to review her case. – Reuters
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Epstein grand jury records to remain sealed, US judge rules
A US judge has denied the Justice Department's bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, saying the material paled in comparison to the trove of records the government has about the case but is not releasing. Manhattan-based US District Judge Richard Berman's decision came as President Donald Trump sought to quell discontent from his conservative base of supporters over his administration's decision not to release files of the case. The judge wrote that it would be more logical for the government to directly release the vast amount of information it has collected from its investigation into Epstein than to petition the court to release the more limited grand jury materials, whose secrecy is protected by law. "The Government's 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials," Judge Berman wrote. "The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged conduct," the judge said. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Trump had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. However, in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Mr Trump's supporters. Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. In July, Mr Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein's case. The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered. The New York City chief medical examiner determined that Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging. On 11 August, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied a similar request by the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. Mr Engelmayer wrote that the public would not learn anything new from the release of materials from Maxwell's grand jury because much of the evidence was made public at her monthlong trial four years ago. The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of others besides Epstein and Maxwell who had sexual contact with minors, Mr Engelmayer wrote. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she has asked the US Supreme Court to review her case. In July, a Florida judge rejected the administration's request to unseal grand jury records from federal investigations there into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. Epstein served a 13-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a state-level prostitution charge as part of a deal now widely regarded as too lenient.
