New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is refusing to drop the $454 million civil fraud judgment on President-elect Donald Trump and plans to continue defending it during his appeal of the case despite his impending inauguration, her lawyer said.
Trump, along with his two eldest sons Donald Jr. and Eric and other defendants from the Trump Organization, were ordered to pay the sum with an interest of $87,502 per day after Judge Arthur Engoron’s February 16 ruling, the Associated Press reported.
“Now, Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law,” James said in a press release following the ruling.
New York Deputy Solicitor General Judith Vale wrote on Tuesday a letter to Trump’s appellate lawyer, D. John Sauer, that “The ordinary burdens of civil litigation do not impede the President’s official duties in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution,” ABC News reported.
Sauer requested that James drop the civil case in order to “cure” the political polarization and to improve “the health of our Republic” shortly after his client won the November election.
“In the aftermath of his historic election victory, President Trump has called for our Nation’s partisan strife to end, and for the contending factions to join forces for the greater good of the country. This call for unity extends to the legal onslaught against him and his family that permeated the most recent election cycle,” Sauer wrote in a letter obtained by the outlet.
Trump’s lawyer’s request was rejected by Vale, who argued that there is “no merit to your claim that the pendency of defendants’ own appeal will impede Mr. Trump’s official duties as President.”