New York Attorney General Letitia James has rejected President-elect Donald Trump's request to walk away from her office's $486 million civil fraud judgment against him.
"This Office will not stipulate to vacate the final judgment" against Trump and his company "or otherwise seek to dismiss the action," a lawyer for James' office said in a letter to Trump attorney John Sauer.
Sauer had asked James' office to voluntarily dismiss the case last month, saying that it could interfere with Trump's duties as president and that she should drop it to promote "unity."
In a statement, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called James' letter "sad and weak." He added, "AG James should heed President Trump’s call for national unity and drop this baseless, discredited witch hunt."
In a letter to Sauer made public Tuesday, the deputy state solicitor general, Judith Vale, declined the invitation, noting that both sides have already fully filed their arguments in Trump's appeal of the judgment to the Appellate Division, First Department, a midlevel appeals court.
There is "no merit to your claim that the pendency of defendants’ own appeal will impede Mr. Trump’s official duties as President," Vale wrote.
"The trial is over, final judgment has been rendered, and defendants’ appeal to the First Department has been fully submitted and argued. Mr. Trump’s official duties will not be impeded while awaiting the First Department’s decision," she added.
Vale also pushed back against Sauer's claim that the attorney general should follow the lead of federal and state prosecutors in Trump's criminal cases. Special counsel Jack Smith dropped his two cases against Trump following his Nov. 5 win, while the Manhattan district attorney's office has agreed to indefinitely postpone, but not drop, Trump's sentencing on state felony charges.
"This civil enforcement action is not a criminal action, and [the state] Supreme Court did not impose any criminal sanction on Mr. Trump or any other defendant. Accordingly, the various actions taken by the Special Counsel’s office or the District Attorney’s Office of New York County in the respective criminal cases brought by those offices against Mr. Trump are irrelevant here," the letter said.
Judge Arthur Engoron handed down a $350 million judgment against Trump, his company and several top executives in February after a monthslong civil trial included testimony from Trump and his oldest children. The amount has since swelled to over $497 million, including prejudgment interest, with Trump on the hook for the lion's share — $486 million, the AG's office said.
Engoron found James had proven that Trump and his executives had repeatedly engaged in fraud over several years, including by grossly exaggerating the company's assets to secure loans at better rates than they would otherwise be entitled to.
Trump had denied any wrongdoing in the case, which he maintained was politically motivated because James is a Democrat. In his letter, Sauer, whom Trump has said he will nominate for U.S. solicitor general, claimed the findings were legally flawed, as well.
Vale denied the claim.
The "overwhelming evidence supports Supreme Court’s conclusion that Mr. Trump and the other defendants engaged in repeated and persistent fraud and illegality," she wrote.
