'It's disappointing': Ex-US AG Matt Whitaker slams NY civil fraud trial ruling on 'Fox & Friends' after Donald Trump ordered to pay $355M
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The February 17 episode of 'Fox & Friends' had former acting US Attorney General Matt Whitaker join the co-hosts to share his take on the proceedings of the New York civil fraud case against former president Donald Trump.
In the case brought up by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and The Trump Organization to pay penalties of more than $350 million on February 16, 2024.
Additionally, the former president was barred from serving as an officer or director of any corporation or other legal entity in the state for three years. His sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, were also asked to pay $4 million and were barred from serving as executives in New York for two years, according to CNN.
Matt Whitaker warns NYC may lose businesses
Describing the case as "very weak" from a legal standpoint, Whitaker claimed that Judge Engoron "gave a forum for Letitia James to make ridiculous claims."
"Ultimately the judgment is untethered to any number," he stated. "There was no victim, no bank has lost any money, no insurance company was out anything. So the judge has picked a number out of the air hoping to punish Trump, The Trump Organization, the Trump children, and others in the ... organization, and I think it's disappointing."
"The other thing that's going to happen ... is (we are) going to see businesses fleeing New York," he continued, "Just like Elon Musk left Delaware, (we're) going to see these businesses leave," Whitaker added.
Donald Trump is not likely to have better luck on appeals
Host Pete Hegseth asked Whitaker whether Donald Trump stands a chance to win on appeal, to which he replied, "It's an appeal to the New York Court of Appeals - it's going to be a seven-judge panel all appointed by Democratic Governors Cuomo and Hochul."
"So you know, there's a chance that justice is not only delayed but could be denied, unfortunately. But I think in this case, this Judge Engoron was so fundamentally biased and unfair to President Trump that the Court of Appeals is going to have to insert themselves," he added.
"Remember, the US Supreme Court does sit above the State Supreme Court ultimately and could, if necessary, and especially in an anti-due process case like this ... it could make its way to the US Supreme Court because it is so fundamentally inconsistent with American jurisprudence," he further stated.
