Donald Trump is appealing his $454m New York civil fraud judgment, challenging the judge’s finding that he lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom.
The former president’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal on Monday asking the state’s mid-level appeals court to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron’s verdict after a months-long trial stemming from New York attorney general Letitia James’s lawsuit.
Mr Trump’s attorneys wrote in court papers that they are asking the court to decide whether Judge Engoron “committed errors of law and/or fact” and whether he abused his discretion and/or his jurisdiction.
Mr Trump has otherwise been deriding his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, after the Charles Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action donor network announced it would no longer be supporting her campaign after she lost the South Carolina primary.
Meanwhile, the former president is planning a trip to the US-Mexico border this week – and so is President Joe Biden – as Republicans target immigration as a campaign wedge issue, with the White House and Congress struggling to pass bipartisan reform legislation.