JUL 26, 2024
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson led a 15-state coalition in filing a brief today supporting former President Trump’s appeal of a court ordering him to pay around $355 million for allegedly making false real estate statements.
Earlier this year, a state court judge in New York found former President Trump liable for allegedly “submitting false financial statements to banks and insurance companies to obtain better rates on loans and insurance coverage.” The judge then awarded a “disgorgement of ill-gotten gains” against former President Trump in the amount of approximately $355 million, before pre-judgment interest. Mr. Trump has appealed to New York’s intermediate appellate court.
“Our brief isn’t about Donald Trump, it’s about upholding the rule of law and the Constitution,” Attorney General Wilson said. “We argue that this award is an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment and also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
The citizens of South Carolina and the other states in this coalition conduct business in New York, primarily New York City, the brief states, “And they need confidence that their customary business dealings in New York will not subject them to devastating fines. The Supreme Court’s disgorgement order will have a chilling effect on business conducted by citizens of amici states.”
In addition to South Carolina, the following states joined the amicus brief: Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
You can read the brief here.
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