Matthew Whitaker, former acting U.S. attorney general in the Trump administration, asserted on Newsmax that the New York court cases against Donald Trump are merely an attempt to undermine the former president and won’t withstand scrutiny over time. Whitaker criticized the $88.3 million jury award in the case involving writer E. Jean Carroll and another lawsuit filed by New York’s attorney general, accusing Trump of inflating his net worth and providing misleading information to banks about 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.”
Whitaker contends that the New York cases, including one initiated by state Attorney General Letitia James, aim to dismantle Donald Trump by seizing his assets and forcing him out of the state. Despite Trump’s efforts to improve New York City and the state, Whitaker described it as a “very hostile place” for the former president.
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.”
