Donald Trump's real estate empire could be saved by his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, after the former president was barred from conducting business in the state of New York for three years.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled against Trump on Friday after a months-long trial involving accusations brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James that the former president and his business, The Trump Organization, deceived banks and insurers for years to obtain better financial terms. In total, Trump and his associates, including his eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, were ordered to pay $364 million in fines.
The ruling also bars Trump and former associates Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney from "serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation" for three years. Donald Jr. and Eric, both of whom serve as executives in their father's organization, are also banned from conducting business for the next two years.
Trump's businesses could be saved by his other family members, however, such as wife Melania Trump or eldest daughter Ivanka, who left the family company in 2017 to serve in Trump's White House. Legal experts previously assessed that the former president would be able to hold on to his properties even if barred from conducting business by transferring his company to his family members not included in James' case.
"Engoron's order prevents Trump and his sons from serving as officers or directors in New York, but they can still be shareholders," Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Newsweek on Friday. "That means they can own the companies, but they can't run them."
The judge's order in October originally dissolved Trump's business licenses, but Friday's order pulled back from that ruling, with Engoron reserving any "restructuring" and potential dissolution up to Barbara Jones, the court's independent monitor who's role was extended by three years in Engoron's ruling.
Rahmani noted that the reverse of Enogoron's previous cancellation of Trump's business licenses was the former president's "only win," adding that if Trump "needs a family member to serve as a director or officer to run the business, Melania or Ivanka can fill those roles."
"Ivanka was originally part of the case, but was dismissed, so there are no limitations on what she can do," Rahmani said.
Ivanka Trump was originally listed as a defendant in James' case but was removed from the lawsuit that was filed in 2022. The former president's daughter was also called to testify during the civil fraud trial in November, during which she revealed that Trump had at one point borrowed money from his children to help meet a lending agreement with Deutsche Bank.
According to Melania's former chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, saving her husband's business would likely come with a set of demands from the former first lady up front.
"I just don't know that she would want to take on that much responsibility unless she was guaranteed some major control or power," Grisham told Newsweek in October.
"I suppose she would potentially do it for [her and Trump's son] Barron's sake so he could eventually run everything if he wanted, but I don't think she would do anything if there's a potential that she would lose any kind of money or be on the hook for paying taxes, etc."
Newsweek reached out to Melania Trump's press office for comment on Friday.
Trump attorney Christopher Kise told Newsweek in an email on Friday that Engoron's ruling "ignored the law, ignored the facts, and simply signed off on the Attorney General's manifestly unjust political crusade against the front-running candidate for President of the United States."
The former president has claimed that he is innocent of all accusations and has accused James of attempting to interfere with his campaign.
"President Trump will of course appeal and remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality," Kise said.
Correction 2/17/24, 9:20 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Ivanka Trump is no longer an executive at the Trump Organization.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
