Trump Derangement Syndrome In U.S. Courts

A District Attorney in Georgia and a New York Judge face criticism for their roles in two separate prosecutions of GOP Presidential candidate Pres. Donald J. Trump.

This was a banner week for Trump Derangement Syndrome in the American court system.

New York State Supreme Court Judge Arthur F. Engoron imposed a staggering $364 million fine on former President Donald J. Trump for committing a “fraud” that many Americans commit - inflating their financial assets.

The case was unusual because there was no complainant, the loans were repaid in full and on time, and lending officials testified that Trump did not deceive them and they hope to continue doing business with Trump. Moreover, Trump’s financial documents contained caveats urging lenders to do due diligence.

The Associated Press did a 70-year review of civil cases and concluded the New York proceeding was unprecedented in that it was “without a showing of obvious victims and major losses.”

“Obscene award against Trump is testing the New York legal system’s integrity.” - headline in The Hill on Saturday.

Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, writes that N.Y. District Attorney Letitia James made prosecuting Trump a campaign promise and “turned the law into a virtual license to hunt him down along with his family and his associates.”

In his 92-page decision, Engoron wrote (somewhat unconvincingly?) that “[t]he frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience…” He also said Trump’s “complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.”

Engeron ruled Trump can’t run any New York company for three years. He ordered Trump’s two sons to pay $4 million each and barred them from being officers in Trump’s business for two years.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), tweeted an intriguing question: “Given that there were no victims with losses, who is supposed to receive the money?”

Engeron insisted “timely and total repayment of loans does not extinguish the harm that false statements inflict on the marketplace.”

Bad Impression

Meanwhile, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis took the stand in a Georgia courtroom and failed to make a good impression.

A former friend of Willis testified, in effect, that Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan J. Wade had misrepresented the length of their relationship to the court. Willis said she became romantically involved with Wade after she appointed him in November 2021 to serve as chief prosecutor in a major racketeering lawsuit alleging election interference by Trump and 17 other defendants. Willis’ former friend said Willis and Wade had become romantically attached years before Wade ‘s appointment.

Furthermore, Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee refused to admit into evidence text messages between Wade’s former divorce attorney and Ashleigh Merchant, a defense attorney in the case, on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. Merchant read the text message, which shows Willis and Wade began their relationship in 2019.

It all matters because…