Hochul tells NY businesses not to fear about Trump verdict: ‘Nothing to worry about’
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) addressed New York business owners in a new interview and told them there was “nothing to worry about” after former President Trump was hit with a $355 million fine and the inability to conduct business in New York for three years.
Hochul joined John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM where she was asked if other New York businesspeople should be worried that if “they can do that to the former president, they can do that to anybody.”
“I think that this is really an extraordinary unusual circumstance that the law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are business people have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior,” Hochul responded.
A New York judge on Friday ordered Trump to pay the massive sum in penalties in a civil fraud case. The decision came just weeks after closing arguments wrapped up a months-long trial after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued Trump for alleging he falsely altered his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits.
The judge, Arthur Engoron, found Trump, the Trump Organization, top executives and his adult sons liable for fraud.
Hochul said there was no way she would overrule Engoron’s decision because “we need a clear separation of powers.” She added that “that’s what was envisioned by our Founding Fathers.”
The governor provided reassurance to New York businesses after the ruling. “By and large, they are honest people and they’re not trying to hide their assets and they're following the rules,” she said of the people who own and conduct business in the New York City area.
“And so this judge determined that Donald Trump did not follow the rules. He was prosecuted and truly, the governor of the state of New York does not have a say in the size of a fine, and we want to make sure that we don’t have that level of interference,” she said.