'Why this nuclear option?' Jonathan Turley questions Donald Trump's $355M penalty in New York civil fraud case on 'Fox & Friends'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley joined co-host Ainsley Earhardt to talk about the verdict of Donald Trump's New York civil fraud case on the February 21 episode of 'Fox & Friends'.

Turley felt that the State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron took an extreme approach, as did Attorney General Letitia James in her attempt to prosecute the former president.

Trump was ordered to pay about $355 million to the state of New York in damages during the February 16 ruling. 

Jonathan Turley dubs verdict in Donald Trump's New York civil fraud case a 'public execution'

Turley claimed that it was not customary to use the legal mechanisms in the manner in which it was used to prosecute Trump.

He claimed, "The statute hasn't been used in this way against an individual where there wasn't a crime, the company didn't go bankrupt, the loans were paid off and everyone made money. Even The New York Times couldn't find, in decades, a case that really looked like this one and that's not too surprising."

"You have an attorney general who ran on the pledge to bag him for something. So this was the ‘something’ she came up with," maintained Turley.

He went on to state, "The argument of the court is it was still fraud, even though you didn't cost anyone a dollar… Because overvaluing or undervaluing property is very common in the real estate area."

"But even if you accept that this is fraudulent, the question is why this nuclear option, why this, in effect, a public execution? And the glee that people are expressing that he might have a fire sale of his properties really shows the discomfort that many of us have with this opinion," expressed the legal scholar. 

Letitia James and Donald Trump react to the New York civil fraud case verdict

While Attorney General James celebrated her victory in the New York Supreme Court, Trump called her "vicious and sick," sharing his plan for "revenge."

"Today, justice has been served. Today we proved that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful, or politically connected you are," stated James at a press conference in her Manhattan office, as per Fox News. 

On the other hand, Trump appeared at a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham on February 20 and claimed that the "horrible attorney general" campaigned on "getting" him.

"If I didn't run (for President), I wouldn't have any of these lawsuits. … These are vicious, sick people. … My revenge will be success," asserted the former president ahead of South Carolina's GOP primary.