Donald Trump fined $354.9m and banned from running businesses in New York for three years
Former US president Donald Trump has been fined $354.9m (£281.6m) after a civil fraud trial in New York.
With interest included, he will have to hand over at least $453.5m (£359.9m).
The judge also banned Trump from running businesses in New York for three years. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, received similar bans for two years.
Trump and the Trump Organisation cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution for three years.
Judge Arthur Engoron had already ruled in an earlier judgment that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and other institutions to make deals and secure loans.
Following the fine, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to vent his anger, describing the decision as a “complete and total sham” and accused the judge and prosecutors of being “deluded, biased and crooked”.
He also claimed the judgment was “illegal” and “unAmerican”.
Later, in a statement made outside his Mar-a-Largo estate, he claimed his company’s accounts were “great” and that he was the victim of a political “witch hunt”, which he blamed on President Joe Biden.
“It is a witch hunt against his [Biden’s] political opponent the likes of which our country has never been seen before,” he said.
“You see it in Third World countries, but you don’t see it here.
“If I weren’t running [for president] none of this stuff would ever happen – none of these lawsuits would have happened – I would have had a nice life. But I enjoy this life for a different reason.”
He also said he planned to appeal.
Alina Habba, his lawyer, said after the hearing that the ruling was a “manifest injustice… plain and simple”.
She said in a statement: “It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fuelled witch hunt that was designed to ‘take down Donald Trump,’ before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the Attorney General’s office.”
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Trump: ‘They don’t like me running’
New York Attorney General Letitia James sought $370m (£294m) and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state in the civil fraud case.
Such a huge penalty could leave Trump’s real estate empire in tatters – an image that helped lead him to fame and the White House in 2016.
Judge Engoron also cancelled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control areas of Trump’s real estate empire, saying this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee the businesses.
In the ruling, the judge wrote that Trump and the other defendants in the case “are incapable of admitting the error of their ways”.
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The judge called the fraud at the heart of the trial a “venial sin, not a mortal sin”, adding in his written verdict: “They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff.
“But the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. Instead, they adopt a ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.”
Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump were each ordered to pay $4m (£3.1m) by the judge.
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach was central to the case. Pic: AP
Trump Tower is one of the ex-president’s many properties. Pic: AP
In response, Trump’s legal team claimed the testimony during the trial “proved there was no wrongdoing, no crime, and no victim” and added an appeal would be launched.
Ms Habba added: “Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear: this is not just about Donald Trump – if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business.”
Last month Trump was also ordered by another judge in New York to pay $83.3m (£65.5m) in punitive damages to writer E Jean Carroll.
She launched a defamation case against the ex-president, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
In this latest civil case, Ms James’ office estimated Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6bn.
State lawyers claimed Trump used the inflated numbers to get lower insurance premiums and favourable loan terms, saving at least $168m £133m) on interest alone.
Judge Arthur Engoron at the closing arguments of the trial. Pic Reuters
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Donald Trump at the trial in New York
During the trial, Trump launched a six-minute diatribe from the witness stand and was ordered not to disparage court staff – but defied the judge and was fined $15,000 (£11,800) for twice violating the order.
The Republican presidential front-runner testified in November that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.
During closing arguments in January this year, he claimed the case was a “fraud on me”.
Before the trial, Judge Engoron ruled on James’ main claim, finding that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent.
As punishment, the judge ordered some of his companies should be removed from his control and dissolved, but due to an appeal, another court has put that on hold.
Because it is a civil case, rather than criminal, there was no threat of Trump being jailed.
However, four of the investigations into the former president are on criminal grounds, including one in New York related to alleged hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump has also been charged in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving office and in Washington and Georgia for his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss.
A senior US senator who supports Donald Trump has told Sky News why he believes the US would be right to intervene in Iran.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas who ran against Mr Trump in 2016 but now backs him, told US correspondent David Blevins that Iran is an “acute threat to the national security of the US”.
He went on to claim that because “Iran is also building ICBMs (intercontinental ballistc missiles)” and “You don’t need an ICBM to go to Israel”, it indicated Iran’s intention “to take a nuclear weapon to the United States to murder Americans”.
“Nobody is talking about invading Iran,” Mr Cruz added. “We’re not going to see boots on the ground.”
Middle East latest: Trump says he ‘may or may not’ strike Iran
It comes after the US president said he “may do it, I may not do it” when asked if he would launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
So far, Israel has been attacking Iran alone since it ramped up its military action last Friday, launching strikes against what it says are Tehran’s facilities for developing a nuclear weapon and also destroying its air defences.
Iran has always denied seeking the ability to make a nuclear weapon from its uranium enrichment programme.
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Blevins’s fellow US correspondent Mark Stone says that while figures like Mr Cruz back military action, “a whole host of other figures are saying ‘do not do it'”.
“The social media space is absolutely full of MAGA [Make America Great Again] figures from the right… saying ‘we absolutely must not go into Iran’.”
If the US were to decide to take military action against Iran, it could have implications for the UK, as America may ask to station refuelling aircraft at a British base in Cyprus and B-2 bombers, which could carry the bunker buster bombs required to attack Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, could launch from the British base of Diego Garcia.
Mr Cruz told Sky News that while many of Mr Trump’s support base did not want to see the US involve itself in another war, “the overwhelming majority of Americans, nearly 80%, support President Trump, and support President Trump defending us against an Iranian nuclear weapon.”
America is deploying more fighter planes to the Middle East in a “demonstration of force” as tensions escalate and speculation about a possible US strike on Iran continues.
Pictures and flight tracking data show F-35 jets and tanker aircraft being moved towards the region, as well as the tasking of an aircraft carrier, providing options in case President Donald Trump decides to intervene in the conflict.
But one particular aircraft that has not been seen just yet – the B-2 stealth bomber – could reveal the most about America’s intentions towards Iran…
Why is America moving more aircraft to the Middle East?
“It’s giving them options,” says military analyst Michael Clarke. “They have got four types of aircraft – including fighters, interceptors and fighter-bombers – all in the right region.”
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Clarke: What could US involvement look like as Iran attacks ease
The new arrivals can be spread around several existing military bases that the US has in the region in Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
“More is better and also it’s a demonstration of force,” Prof Clarke added. “There’s a political element behind it, to show the Iranians what they can do, but also to other allies.
“The Americans want to be taken seriously in all of this.”
A Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, primarily used for aerial refueling, is seen on tracking in the eastern Mediterranean. Pic: Flightradar24
Analysis: What aircraft have moved to the region?
Sky News analysis of flight-tracking data shows more than 30 US military planes have been active over parts of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea over the past three days.
These include planes used for reconnaissance, refuelling in mid-air as well as carrying cargo.
Map of US military bases in the Middle East
An air-traffic control recording from the US suggests F-22 Raptors are being sent across the Atlantic. Two refuelling tankers are visible on flight tracking data leaving the US east coast, likely escorting the stealth fighter jets.
In images taken by photographer Glenn Lockett in Suffolk, three US air tankers were seen flying over England, each accompanied by four F-35 jets.
F-35s are one of the most advanced warplanes in the world, known for their ability to evade enemy radar.
A US air tanker seen flying over England, accompanied by F-35 jets. Credit: Instagram/g.lockaviation
Flight tracking data shows that the tankers travelled to the Mediterranean and then returned to the UK.
Most of the US military planes tracked by Sky News regularly turn off their locations and final destinations, according to the data from Flightradar24.
Some of the planes moved from the US to Europe, while others appeared to move closer to the Middle East. At least five of the US military aircraft landed at Chania Airport on the Greek island of Crete.
An air-traffic control recording from the US also suggests F-22 Raptors are being sent across the Atlantic. Two refuelling tankers are visible on flight tracking data leaving the US east coast, likely escorting the stealth fighter jets.
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US insists deployments are defensive
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth stressed that the deployment of more aircraft was defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard its forces in the region.
Fighter aircraft have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles in the past.
America already has a substantial force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops as well as air defence systems, aircraft and warships.
But as the conflict between Israel and Iran carries on – and President Trump continues to make threats against Tehran – it’s possible that multiple options could be on the table for intervention.
B-2 bombers – the ones to watch?
Asked what he’s looking out for as speculation about whether the US will intervene directly continues, Prof Clarke pointed to one particular aircraft that hasn’t been seen moving towards the region yet: The B-2 stealth bomber.
Known for its iconic triangle shape and ability to penetrate deep air defences undetected, the B-2 has lesser-known capability that could be crucial for any action over Iran: it can carry ‘bunker buster’ bombs.
So far Israel has not been able to damage Iran’s secretive Fordow uranium enrichment plant, which is buried deep beneath a mountain.
A B-2 stealth bomber flies over Washington DC during a 4 July celebration. File pic: AP
The only bomb believed to be powerful enough to penetrate the facility is America’s GBU-57, a 14-ton bomb that is so heavy it can only be launched from the US fleet of heavy bomber aircraft.
Any movement of B-2 bombers to the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean could “indicate the likelihood that the Americans are going to use bunker busters in Iran,” Prof Clarke says.
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