New York Attorney General Letitia (Tish) James spent months bragging about the civil penalty her case forced President Donald Trump to pay, only to have it completely backfired right in her face this week.
According to Breitbart, an appeals court handed Trump a massive win by throwing out the staggering $364 million penalty he was ordered to pay earlier this year, marking yet another epic legal victory for the president and his team of defense lawyers.
Five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division ruled this week that they believe the original verdict against Trump was “excessive.”
Two of the judges on the panel said that the excessive fine “violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
What’s going on?
The court’s bombshell ruling was shared this week, and it made clear that it believes that the original penalty was ridiculous.
“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne Renwick and Peter Moulton wrote in the court’s opinion.
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow posted on X after the decision came down, reminding readers that it was based on the same argument he made in one of his books.
🚨 BREAKING: Appeals court throws out $515 million(!!) civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump.
The judge ruled the penalty was cruel and unusual, violating the Eighth Amendment.
This is EXACT argument I made in my NYT bestseller BREAKING THE LAW!
Great news.…
— Alex Marlow (@AlexMarlow) August 21, 2025
While most of Trump’s recent legal wins have come via the U.S. Supreme Court, the appelate courts have also generally been kind to the Trump administration.
The president’s only real legal roadblock at this point is the federal judiciary, where he’s stopped at nearly every turn by mostly Democrat-appointed federal judges.
Social media reacts
Users across social media weighed in on the appellate court’s bombshell ruling in Trump’s favor.
“What about disbarring the corrupt judge. This was an absurd ruling,” one X user wrote.
Others called for AG James to face consequences.
“Lock Tish Up! Lock Tish Up!” another X user wrote.
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Author: Ryan Ledendecker
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