At issue for the judge was how broadly James used a state law to go after Trump for fraud in financial dealings, given that it wasn’t a case where victims were conned or complained to the state about it. George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley wrote:

[Trump's] lawyer pressed a panel of New York state appellate judges to upend the massive, nine-figure fraud ruling against the former president and his business empire. If the judges’ pointed questions to the state are any indication, then there’s a chance that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ stunning trial victory earlier this year could be curbed.

"In an age of lawfare," James "has always embraced the total war option. Her very appeal has been her willingness to use any means against political opponents." Turley continued:

James earlier sought to use her office to disband the National Rifle Association, the most powerful gun rights organization in the country, due to self-dealing and corruption of executives. James notably did not target liberal groups accused of similar violations. The ridiculous effort to disband the NRA collapsed in court.

It did not matter. James knew that such efforts were performative and that New York voters did not care if such attacks failed. She will continue to win the lawfare battles, even if she loses the war. James is best known for her fraud case against Trump, in which she secured a $464 million fine and a ban on Trump from the New York real estate business for three years. 

That penalty, which has now risen to $489 million with interest, was in a case where no one had lost a dime due to the alleged inaccurate property valuations in bank loans secured by the Trump organization. 

Not only where the banks fully paid on the loans and made considerable profits, but they wanted to make additional loans to the Trump organization.

Appellate Justice David Friedman said on Thursday the law “is supposed to protect the market and the consumers," adding: "I don't see it here." In agreement with Judge Friedman, Justice Peter Moulton told James' office:

The immense penalty in this case is troubling. How do you tether the amount that was assessed by [Judge Arthur Engoron] to the harm that was caused here where the parties left these transactions happy?

I don't want to reduce the judges' skepticism to "no harm, no foul," but that's the bottom line in the case, so far. Clearly, James' efforts to employ lawfare — the use of legal systems and institutions to harm or delegitimize an opponent — has not worked out as well as the Trump-hating DA had hoped it would.

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Turley summed up James' abuse of both her position and the legal system perfectly. It has never been about justice to James; it has been solely about politics. 

After the effort failed to force doctors to disseminate pro-abortion information in California, James sought to prevent others from disseminating pro-life information in New York. The court ruled that, under the First Amendment, government officials cannot simply declare certain views as “disinformation” as a pretext to censor disfavored speech.

If there are harmful or fraudulent products or practices, the government has ample powers to target businesses and professionals involved with them. James, however, was seeking to silence those who advocate for a treatment that is unproven but not unlawful.

James’s legacy now includes an effort to disband a civil rights organization, deny free speech and secure confiscatory fines against her political opponents. Yet she is lionized by the media and politicians in an election that is billed as “saving democracy.”

In the end, James knows her audience, and it is not appellate judges. It does not matter to her if she is found to be violating the Constitution or abusing opponents. She has converted the New York legal system into a series of thrill-kills.

James has not only campaigned on lawfare; she also views a key part of her job as finally bringing down Donald Trump and other conservative political figures and policies. While James may be strongly supported by New York Democrats, her results in the courtroom continue to flounder. 

The Bottom Line

The Democrat Party has been on a hellbent mission to topple Trump since June 2015, when he and Melania rode down the golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce his 2016 presidential candidacy. Two absurd impeachments in the House, multiple unfounded lawsuits, and two failed assassination attempts later, the Donald still stands.

Come November 5, let's hope and pray America's 45th president prevails yet again.