New York judge slams Donald Trump in fraud case
Judge Arthur Engoron has slammed former US President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has proven to be "incapable of admitting the error of [his] ways", according to a New York judge.
The former US President has been handed a $354.9 million fine for exaggerating his personal wealth on financial statements, and Judge Arthur Engoron has slammed Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr, and Allen Weisselberg - the former chief operating officer of the Trump Organization - while delivering the verdict in his civil fraud trial.
The judge said: "Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' posture that the evidence belies."
Judge Engoron explained that he took the decision in order to "protect the integrity of the financial marketplace".
He added: "[Trump's] refusal to admit error - indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor - constrains this court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained."
In the ruling, the judge also rubbished Trump's valuation of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
He said: "Donald Trump insisted that he believed Mar-a-Lago is worth 'between a billion and a billion five' today, which would require not only valuing it as a private residence, which the deed prohibits, but as more than the most expensive private residence listed in the country by approximately 400 percent."
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr has taken to social media to react to the verdict.
He wrote on X: "We’ve reached the point where your political beliefs combined with what venue your case is heard are the primary determinants of the outcome; not the facts of the case!
"It’s truly sad what’s happened to our country and I hope others see it before it’s too late to correct course!"
