A civil fraud fine that would have cost US President Donald Trump and his business associates nearly half a billion dollars has been rejected by an appeals court in New York, calling the fine “excessive.”
After considering Trump’s appeal for almost 11 months, a five-judge panel in New York’s Appellate Division made its decision on Thursday.
The panel cited the US Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which forbids the government from imposing excessive fines on its citizens.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Trump had inflated his financial standing to gain advantages from banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.
A lower court in February 2024 had mandated that Trump pay a $ 355 million fine, which the appeals court questioned. Due to the accumulating interest, that amount has since increased to about $515 million.
Source: Aljazeera
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