Over the course of an 11-week fraud trial before New York Judge Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump practically begged for a harsh verdict. On Friday he fulfilled his wish and then some.
Engoron issued a scathing 92-page decision ordering Trump and his co-defendants to pay $364 million for defrauding the people of New York. And that gargantuan figure actually understates the price: With the addition of prejudgment interest required by New York law, Trump is looking to get closer to $500 million.
Combined with the $83 million a jury ordered to pay Trump last month for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, the former president faces a financial hit that exceeds even his own likely inflated account of his empire's cash on hand.
Like Carroll, the people of New York may not see the money anytime soon; Trump has promised to appeal the verdict, although he will have to pay the fine or at least obtain bail to do so.
However, the decision carries real responsibility for a man who has managed to avoid it time and time again. Engoron's opinion ridicules Trump for his callous, self-conscious testimony and appears to regard him as an absent child in need of unconditional supervision and harsh punishment.
While the financial aspect of the sanction grabbed headlines, it is just one of several ways Engoron hit the former president.
The verdict further punishes Trump with the loss of control over his business. Engoron appointed a second monitor, called the independent director of compliance, to join former Judge Barbara Jones in overseeing Trump's empire. The net effect is that Trump, after a lifetime of doing whatever he wanted regardless of the rules, will have to step down from his position and ask someone else's permission for all sorts of previously unilateral trade decisions, at least in New York. York.
Engoron implemented the remedy to safeguard assets now provisionally owed to the people of the state. They are no longer Trump's property to do with whatever he wants.
The judge also banned Trump from serving as a director or officer of any New York company for three years. That means he can't try to get out of trouble and oversight by forming another company.
The opinion also constitutes a blow to the brand that Trump has spent his entire life mythologizing. The titans of commerce don't tend to issue big judgments for fraud or ask anyone's permission to write a check.
The extent to which the Trump brand is built on lies has always been questionable. After today's verdict, the brand stands even less.
Nor was Engoron's trial limited to Trump himself. His children also face large financial penalties and are prohibited from holding management positions in any New York company for two years.
And Trump's problems are actually just beginning. The day before the verdict, another New York judge ordered a trial next month in Stormy Daniels' case for her silence, which could result in a felony conviction and even a prison sentence. Also on the horizon are three more criminal trials, civil litigation over the events of January 6, 2021, and the results of a potentially devastating tax audit.
Even his only apparent long-term defense strategy – returning to the White House to avoid further prosecutions – would fail to undo much of the damage.
Engoron's scathing verdict left no doubt that Trump's trademark arrogance and slash-and-burn politics played a major role in the ruling. The judge highlighted his “total lack of repentance and remorse,” which he said “borders on the pathological.”
In this regard, he compared Trump unfavorably to criminal mastermind Bernie Madoff, who at least had the humility to appreciate the harm he had inflicted and apologize to the court and his victims.
Trump, on the other hand, only has one speed. He can be counted on to continue to approach the campaign and his serial court appearances with his trademark style of blunt and outrageously dishonest bluster. If the other cases go as this one did, it may yet prove his downfall.
Harry Litman is the host of Podcast “Talking about federals”. @harrylitman
