New York Attorney General Letitia James petitioned a state judge on Tuesday to fine former President Donald Trump, his adult sons and their legal team a total of $20,000 for raising “previously-rejected arguments” in motions.
James asked the state Supreme Court in Manhattan for the sanctions in a new filing as part of her $250 million lawsuit against Trump and his eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump. James asked the court for $10,000 in fines collectively against the Trumps and another $10,000 in penalties collectively from their lawyers.
In her filing, James cited five instances since October 2022 that the Trump legal team has rehashed arguments that were already rejected by the court or were made on the lack of facts or valid legal grounds.
The judge admonished Trump’s legal team over “borderline frivolous” arguments after they were made a second time last November. James, in the filing, said the arguments continue to get resurfaced, noting they “were borderline frivolous even the first time defendants made them.”
The rejected arguments center on James not having legal standing to sue the Trumps under New York law.
Judge Arthur Engoron and an appeals court rejected the Trump team’s arguments in filings made last October, November and February, James wrote, adding that the arguments surfaced again last month and again Friday.
When ruling on the second attempt by Trump’s legal team in January, Engoron wrote, “Sophisticated defense counsel should have known better.”
Engoron, at that point, said sanctions were not necessary since the court made its point.
But with three more attempts since then, James is asking for punishment, writing that Engoron has the discretion to “impose financial sanctions upon any party or attorney in a civil action or proceeding who engages in frivolous conduct,” vis-a-vis “delay or prolong the resolution of litigation.”
The civil trial is set to begin Oct. 2. James is suing the Trumps and Trump Organization for allegedly inflating the president’s net worth by $2.2 billion dollars via false and misleading financial statements to lenders, insurance companies and the like.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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