Highlights from the decision in Trump's fraud case

The judge who cut a broad line through Donald J. Trump's personal and corporate coffers on Friday, ordering him to pay a fine in his civil fraud case that will total more than $450 million, was both cutting and colorful in his characterization of the behavior of the former president.

The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, an unconventional lawyer who presided over the trial, wrote a detailed 92-page legal decision that incorporated lyrical descriptions of Trump's statements and actions into the legal analysis supporting his decision.

There are folk aphorisms. There are Biblical references to sin. There's Bernie Madoff. And there's even an 18th century poet.

The judge, a former taxi driver and music teacher, is an unlikely opponent of Trump, who has repeatedly labeled him a Democratic stooge and criticized his family and his law clerk.

Here are some notable passages from the decision.

My mistake? Not so much

The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first stated: 'To err is human, to forgive is divine.' The suspects apparently think differently. After about four years of investigation and lawsuits, the only mistake (unintentional, of course) they acknowledge is tripling the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be disputed. Their complete lack of remorse and remorse borders on pathological. They are only accused of inflating the value of assets to make more money. The documents prove this time and time again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. The suspects did not commit murder or arson. They didn't rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet the defendants are unable to admit the error of their actions. Instead, they adopt a “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” attitude that is belied by the evidence.

Trump and corporate crimes: it's not his first rodeo

In considering the need for continued injunctive relief, this court is aware that this action is not the first time that the Trump Organization or its related entities have engaged in corporate misconduct. The more evidence there is of defendants' continued propensity to commit fraud, the greater the need for the court to impose stricter enforcement measures. This isn't the defendants' first rodeo.

Trump on the witness stand

Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to questions asked, and he frequently gave long, irrelevant speeches on issues well outside the scope of the trial. His refusal to answer questions directly or in some cases at all seriously compromised his credibility.

What Trump knew and what Trump did

Donald Trump was aware of many of the key facts underlying several material fraudulent misstatements in the SFCs: he was aware that he had been deprived of the right to use Mar-a-Lago as anything other than a social club, and nevertheless continued to appreciate it. as if it could be used as a single-family home; he was aware that the triplex apartment in which he, a real estate mogul and self-proclaimed expert, lived for decades was not 30,000 square feet, but actually 10,996 square feet; he was aware that he had no control over the importance of the Vornado partnership, even though he represented it as “cash”; he was aware that he had permission to build only 500 private homes in Aberdeen, despite claiming he had permission for 2,500; and he was aware that 40 Wall Street was operating at a deficit, despite having net operating income of $64 million.

As Eric Trump testified, Donald Trump sat at the top of the Trump Organization pyramid until 2017. Donald Trump claimed to “know more about real estate than other people” and to be “more expert than anyone else.” He repeatedly falsified company information with the intent to commit fraud.