Trump Not Done Fighting Civil Fraud Case in New York

Even with the significant financial penalties in the past, Donald Trump is still looking to expunge his civil record in New York.

Lawyers for the president filed an appeal on Wednesday seeking to have a past ruling that he was liable for inflating real estate values across his empire vacated, Crain’s reported. The appeal was prompted by a Substack post by Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, who testified in the civil fraud case.

In the post, which was published at the beginning of the year, Cohen said he felt “compelled and coerced” to testify at the behest of New York Attorney General Letitia James. In a request for comment from the publication, Cohen stuck to his story.

James’ office, meanwhile, declined to comment on the appeal.

During the sensational trial, which was held between Trump’s two terms, Cohen testified that his boss told him to inflate estimates of valuations. On cross-examination, however, Cohen claimed those conversations never took place, according to Trump’s lawyers.

Last month, Trump’s legal team asked the appeals court to compel James’ office to produce records revolving around Cohen.

In 2024, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump inflated asset values on financial statements given to lenders and insurers, ordering him to pay $355 million plus interest. Attorney General Letitia James described the case as proof of Trump’s “lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.”

Last year, an appeals court dismissed the $515 million civil fraud penalty against Trump, calling it “excessive.” The court upheld some injunctive relief against Trump Organization practices but entirely scrapped the massive financial penalty; sanctions against the Trump family running their company have yet to be enforced.

Shortly before that, the Department of Justice — under Trump — subpoenaed James regarding the civil fraud lawsuit and a separate 2020 suit against the NRA. James’ lawyer called the investigation into her “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”

— Holden Walter-Warner