George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley weighed in on the recent fraud verdict against former President Donald Trump and made it clear that he was not impressed.
Turley shared his thoughts with Fox News anchor John Roberts, arguing that the $355 million fine imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron was excessive considering there was no measurable financial damage incurred by any of the “victims” — and those “victims,” instead of seeing themselves as such and seeking restitution, had instead sought to do more business with Trump.
WATCH:
Jonathan Turley: “There’s not a single dollar lost by these ‘victims’. In fact, the people that James calls the victims actually wanted to do more business with Donald Trump. They said they made a lot of money and…viewed him as a whale client—they wanted more loans with him.” pic.twitter.com/aC6KLPD1fY
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 20, 2024
Turley noted — as a number of critics have — that the banks Trump was supposed to have defrauded by giving an inflated estimate of the value of certain properties and assets had not considered themselves to be the victims of fraud. Rather, since the loans taken out based on those valuations had long since been repaid and in full, they had viewed Trump and his company as a “whale” — a high-dollar client with whom they would like to continue to do business.
“Part of the disconnect here is that you have what will be over $455 million if you include interest and then, on the other side of the ledger, you have $0,” Turley explained.
”There’s not a single dollar lost by these victims,” he continued. “In fact, the people that [Attorney General Letitia] James calls the victims actually wanted to do more business with Donald Trump. They said they made a lot of money and they viewed him as a ‘whale’ client, they wanted more loans with him.”
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Despite the fact that the banks had never raised any concerns about fraud, Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) — who ran on a platform of “getting Trump” — asserted victimhood status on their behalf and filed charges against the former president. She took to X to gloat the morning after the ruling, saying, “So, how’s everyone feeling today?”
So, how’s everyone feeling today?
— Tish James (@TishJames) February 17, 2024