Fif­teen GOP-led states back Trump bid to reverse $454 mil­lion fraud judg­ment

South Car­oli­na and 14 oth­er states are back­ing for­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump‘s efforts to appeal a New York court order for him to pay more than $454 mil­lion for alleged­ly mak­ing false esti­mates on the val­ue of his assets and prop­er­ties.
Ear­li­er this year, state Supreme Court Jus­tice Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for alleged­ly sub­mit­ting false finan­cial state­ments to banks and insur­ers to obtain more favor­able rates on loans and insur­ance cov­er­age. The total amount Trump owes the state is approx­i­mate­ly $454 mil­lion after pre-judg­ment inter­est, and the for­mer pres­i­dent has appealed to New York’s inter­me­di­ate appel­late court.

Judge Arthur Engoron speaks dur­ing the tri­al of for­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump in a civ­il fraud case brought by state Attor­ney Gen­er­al Leti­tia James at a Man­hat­tan cour­t­house in New York on Oct. 3, 2023. (Shan­non Stapleton/Pool Pho­to via AP)

“Our brief isn’t about Don­ald Trump, it’s about uphold­ing the rule of law and the Con­sti­tu­tion,” South Car­oli­na Attor­ney Gen­er­al Alan Wil­son said in a state­ment on Fri­day. “We argue that this award is an exces­sive fine under the Eigh …