Former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker criticized New York Judge Arthur Engoron's Friday ruling during an interview with Newsmax on Saturday, characterizing it as "expected" and unjust, particularly in its implications for former President Donald Trump.
The judge, on Friday, ruled against Trump, imposing a penalty of $364 million. The judge determined that Trump engaged in a yearslong scheme to deceive banks and other parties with inflated financial statements, purportedly enhancing the former president's wealth.
Whitaker stated on "America Right Now," "My first reaction was expected ... and we saw this coming. I think we knew that Judge Engoron was not a fair judge and that he was going to try to hammer the Trump Organization and Donald Trump."
Whitaker further asserted, "I read the ruling. I think it's very weak on the facts and especially weak on the law. You know you can't have a fraud by legal definition without having a victim."
He expressed confidence in Trump's appeal, stating, "I think he is ultimately going to win this case because he was denied fundamental due process and fundamental fairness, and this case will be reversed. I have no doubt."
Regarding the implications of the ruling, Whitaker commented, "This is about the rule of law ... If you're a New York corporation, you should expect [New York Attorney General] Letitia James to come after you."
He suggested potential economic ramifications for New York, stating, "I think you're going to see a lot of businesses leaving New York ... New York's gonna decline ... You know, it used to be the Empire State. I don't think that's any indication anymore."
Whitaker brought up political bias, saying, "This is where, you know, the venue and the jurisdiction and ultimately the political beliefs of the jurisdiction is what gets you. And you are going to see this happen, I think, not only in New York against Donald Trump and quite possibly Washington, D.C., where he's also going to have the cards stacked against him."
However, he expressed optimism that justice would eventually prevail.
"But, you know," he said, "this is where you got to believe that ultimately a judge of fairness will get to this case, or judges on appeal, and they'll determine that this was just a ridiculous outcome when there were no victims and actually no fraud was committed."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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