"In a 323-page opinion, a five-judge panel of New York's appellate court cobbled together a 2-2-1 majority out of three disparate opinions that essentially amounted to no substantive decision about last year's fraud judgment against Trump. While the ruling is emblematic of the fraught road this case has been on ever since New York Attorney General Letitia James announced it three years ago, it is by no means a clean victory for Trump."
"A dramatic 11-week trial, which had no jury, ensued while Trump was actively running for president, and included a faceoff with disgraced former attorney and personal fixer Michael Cohen. In the end, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled the Trump family did indeed commit fraud when they overinflated their assets to secure favorable loans, slapping their business with a $355 million penalty, plus a 9 percent interest rate."
Major news outlets initially presented the appellate decision as a sweeping win for Donald Trump, including headlines suggesting a thrown-out $500 million penalty. A five-judge New York appellate panel issued a 323-page opinion that produced a 2-2-1 majority composed of three separate opinions and did not reach a substantive decision overturning the fraud judgment. The underlying trial lasted 11 weeks without a jury and featured testimony from Michael Cohen. Judge Arthur Engoron had found the Trump family committed fraud by inflating assets to obtain favorable loans, imposing roughly $355 million plus 9 percent interest. Trump appealed and the appellate court took nearly a year to decide.
Read at Slate Magazine
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