Court cases in New York against Donald Trump are all "an attempt to break" the former president, but ultimately won't "stand the test of time," Matthew Whitaker, former acting U.S. attorney general in the Trump administration, told Newsmax on Monday.
In an interview on "Newsline," Whitaker slammed the $88.3 million award from a federal jury in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll — and another lawsuit brought by New York's attorney general accusing Trump of padding his net worth and misleading banks about the value of his assets.
"Ultimately, I hope and I expect that the appeals court, which is obviously … going to look at this [E. Jean Carroll case] judgment and especially the punitive damage number, which is just astronomical, and set that aside because ultimately this is not how the law works," Whitaker said.
"Somebody should be able to defend themselves, should be able to present evidence about the plaintiff and the plaintiffs," he said. "The fact that Donald Trump has never met this woman, except in passing to take one picture at a celebrity event. So … you add all that up, and I just don't think other than the headline that they're going to get for several days, ultimately, the appeals court will reverse this."
According to Whitaker, the cases brought in New York — including one from state Attorney General Letitia James, "are an attempt to break Donald Trump, take away his … assets and to kick him out of the state of New York."
Whitaker called it a "very hostile place for Donald Trump, even though … all the things he's done to try to make New York City and the state of New York better."
"But at the end of the day … all of these things … are going to fall by the wayside because the rule of law, and actually the … underlying facts are going to prevail," he said.
"And in the civil case, in which the state is trying to revoke his ability to do business and make him liquidate his assets and pay a fine, I just don't think that that is going to stand the test of time."
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Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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