Turley hails Trump’s 'tremendous victory' after civil fraud penalty tossed, blasts 'grotesque' use of NY law

An appellate court handed President Trump a "tremendous victory" on Thursday, tossing out the $500 million civil fraud penalty levied against him in the high-profile case brought forth by state Attorney General Letitia James in a move constitutional law attorney Jonathan Turley described as "long overdue."

"This entire effort [was] a grotesque use of this New York law," he said on "The Faulkner Focus."

"No one lost money in this case. The banks actually wanted more business from President Trump… It was an effort by Letitia James to have a trophy win against Trump."

NY APPEALS COURT THROWS OUT $500M PENALTY AGAINST TRUMP IN LETITIA JAMES CIVIL CASE

President Donald Trump, at the time a presidential candidate, is shown in court on April 22, 2024. A New York appellate court tossed out the large civil fraud penalty this week. (Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS)

"What this opinion has done is to reduce what was a mounted marlin to something of a guppy," he added.

Turley told guest host Aishah Hasnie the decision is "good news" for the New York court system, which he argued had lost credibility during the legal process against Trump.

"Many of us stood there in disbelief that James was allowed to do this. She succeeded in securing… a very favorable judge… and I want to note that both the judge and James tried to effectively price Trump out of even appealing the case. They insisted that he would have to pony up half a billion dollars just to question what they did in the case, and it was an outrageous effort to effectively price out an appeal," he said.

DOJ OPENS GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION INTO LETITIA JAMES TIED TO TRUMP CIVIL CASE

New York State Attorney General Letitia James makes an announcement at the Office of the New York Attorney General about a major Medicaid fraud investigation committed by transportation companies. James brought forth the civil fraud case against President Trump. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

"It didn't work, and now we can see that the appellate court said this should never have happened in terms of the fine."

Turley concluded by saying that the appellate court delivered a message to the New York business and legal communities that they refuse to allow "raw lawfare."

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The New York Appellate Division overturned President Trump's civil fraud penalty on Thursday, ruling the disgorgement was an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment.

The move does not exonerate the president, however, and the five-member panel upheld findings that Trump and his company were liable — affirming that James acted within her authority and that injunctive relief to curb Trump Organization practices was appropriate. 

Fox News' Michael Dorgan and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.