New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 1:26 PM – Tuesday, December 10, 2024
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney urged the New York Attorney General’s Office to dismiss the civil business fraud prosecution that has resulted in Trump being fined over $480 million.
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However, James’ deputy solicitor general, Judith Vale, rejected the request.
“This Office will not stipulate to vacate the final judgment already entered by Supreme Court, New York County, in this action or otherwise seek to dismiss the action,” said Deputy Solicitor General Judith Vale in a letter to Trump defense attorney John Sauer.
In a letter dated November 26th, Sauer urged State Attorney General Letitia James to drop the prosecution “for the health of our Republic.”
“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,” Sauer stated in the letter.
“This call for unity extends to the legal onslaught against him and his family that permeated the most recent election cycle,” he continued.
The lawsuit is now on appeal, and Sauer argued that its prolongation would prevent the Republican President-elect from fulfilling his presidential duties.
However, Vale wrote on Tuesday that there is “no merit” to that assertion. Furthermore, she claimed that neither the trial’s verdict nor Trump’s attempts to appeal the ruling are impacted by his impending inauguration.
“Presidents do not have immunity from civil lawsuits arising from unofficial conduct, and such lawsuits may proceed while the President is in office,” Vale wrote in the two-page letter.
Vale dismissed Sauer’s point regarding how Trump’s election win over Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5th has resulted in withdrawn or postponed criminal proceedings against him.
“This civil enforcement action is not a criminal action, and [Manhattan] Supreme Court did not impose any criminal sanction on Mr. Trump or any other defendant,” she wrote.
Vale claimed that the decision to indefinitely postpone Trump’s so-called “hush money” case and special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to drop his two federal prosecutions against him is “irrelevant here.”
James filed the civil lawsuit in 2022, alleging that Trump, his two adult sons, his company, and certain officials had allegedly fabricated Trump’s assets in order to increase his claimed net worth.
In February, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay more than $450 million in fines and interest.
Millions of dollars in prejudgment interest were part of Engoron’s penalty, and it will continue to accrue at a rate of $111,983 every day until it is paid. According to figures previously supplied by the NY Attorney General’s office, Trump now owes more than $486 million in total judgment plus interest, CNBC reported.
The fraud verdict was appealed by Trump in February. The sum that Trump had to post to keep the judgment from maturing while he conducted his legal challenge was lowered to $175 million by a New York appeals court in March.
According to Politico, appeal judges openly asked whether James had gone too far during oral arguments in late September. The appeals court has not yet rendered a ruling.
“The same concerns arise from a civil fraud enforcement action, like this one,” Sauer said, citing precedent that prohibits criminal prosecutions against sitting presidents.
He continued, explaining that it would be “perilous” to allow such an action to remain pending against a sitting president, since doing so “would risk imposing … burdens that would make it impossible for a president to effectively carry out his constitutional duties.”
However, Vale reiterated her stance by dismissing that argument as unfounded.
“The ordinary burdens of civil litigation do not impede the President’s official duties in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution,” she continued. “In any event, Mr. Trump does not face any such litigation burdens here.”
Letitia James is refusing to drop the fraudulent $470 million civil verdict against Trump.
Who’s ready to see James prosecuted for her abuse of power and election interference?pic.twitter.com/JM5iUnAZoX
