The Eighth Amendment states:<\/p>\n
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.<\/strong><\/p>\n On February 27th, The American Thinker<\/a> posted an article explaining how that amendment applies to the New York judgement against President Trump.<\/p>\n The article reports:<\/p>\n On February 16, 2024, a judge in New York State<\/a>\u00a0imposed fines totaling just over $360 million on former president Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, and several related Trump companies and trusts in the civil case brought by the New York attorney general.\u00a0\u00a0President Trump\u2019s sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump were fined just over $4 million each.\u00a0\u00a0The court imposed additional sanctions, including injunctions against former president Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.; and Eric Trump from serving as officers or directors in New York corporations for specified numbers of years, among other sanctions.<\/strong><\/p>\n The media reporting on the court\u2019s decision has been massive since the decision was rendered.\u00a0\u00a0However, little or no reporting focused on the constitutionality of the fines under the\u00a0Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0President Trump and his co-defendants all have substantial 8th\u00a0Amendment \u201cexcessive fine\u201d challenges to raise.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, a review of the facts and applicable law reveal that this decision is simply more election interference.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article concludes:<\/p>\n Applying these factors to the New York court\u2019s decision reveals that the fines are clearly excessive.\u00a0\u00a0There are no victims in the Trump case.\u00a0\u00a0No one was harmed.\u00a0\u00a0Each and every financial institution involved was fully repaid and made money on its loans.\u00a0\u00a0Further, a review of case law in New York demonstrates that there simply are no cases ordering a defendant to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in disgorgement without any victim being deprived of anything.\u00a0\u00a0Finally, just how \u201creprehensible\u201d is it to obtain loans and credit facilities and then pay the lenders back, in full, on time, in compliance with the agreement?\u00a0\u00a0The answer is, not very.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once again, a court in New York issued yet another political decision masquerading as justice.\u00a0\u00a0The fines imposed by this New York court on former President Trump and his sons and businesses are grossly and unconstitutionally excessive.\u00a0\u00a0While President Trump and his co-defendants undoubtedly have many defenses to the claims to raise on appeal, chief among them should be a constitutional challenge to these grossly excessive fines.<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. Constitution is an amazing document. It is impartial when followed. My hope is that it will be followed in this case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Eighth Amendment states: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. On February 27th, The American Thinker posted an article explaining how that amendment applies to the New York judgement against … Continue reading