In a last-ditch effort to avoid a $350 million civil fraud judgment, Donald Trump’s legal team has turned to an unexpected appeal: a call for “national unity” that invokes the words of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The move comes as Trump seeks to block a massive financial penalty stemming from a fraud case that has already dealt a severe blow to his real estate empire.
On November 26, D. John Sauer, the attorney who Trump has nominated for Solicitor General of the United States, sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James urging her to drop the fraud case entirely. Sauer argued that continuing the legal battle was damaging to the country’s health and unity, framing it as a partisan attack against Trump and his family.
The letter drew on historical references, including George Washington’s warning against “the spirit of revenge” in his farewell address and Abraham Lincoln’s famous call for reconciliation in his Second Inaugural.
“In the aftermath of his historic election victory, President Trump has called for our Nation’s partisan strife to end, and for the contending factions to join forces for the greater good of the country,” Sauer wrote, presenting the case as part of a broader national divide. “This call for unity extends to the legal onslaught against him and his family.”
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Trump’s legal troubles stem from a civil fraud case in which he was found liable for inflating the value of his real estate holdings to secure more favorable loans, a practice that defrauded banks and investors for years. In February, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump must pay over $350 million in damages, with interest continuing to add to the total as the appeal proceeds.
Though Trump’s legal team is fighting the judgment, the situation remains dire. As of now, Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and other top associates in the Trump Organization face a growing financial burden, which now exceeds half a billion dollars when factoring in interest. Sauer’s appeal, however, focuses less on the legal merits of the case and more on a plea for national healing.
Critics, however, are dismissing the attempt as a political maneuver rather than a legitimate legal argument. University of California law professor Harry Litman called the letter “nauseating,” accusing Sauer of attempting to cloak political rhetoric in the guise of a patriotic call for unity. “It’s pitched as a gracious winner’s call for national unity… but it’s nothing more than a cynical attempt to avoid legal consequences,” Litman wrote.
MSNBC’s Steve Benen also mocked the argument, questioning how Sauer could present such a case “with a straight face,” while former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg dismissed the appeal as “laughable” and devoid of serious legal merit. Greenberg noted that the letter’s focus on partisan division only serves to distract from the substantive issues at hand.
Sauer’s letter also hinted that Trump’s legal team might raise constitutional arguments in future filings, potentially arguing that the fraud case interferes with Trump’s duties as president, though most experts consider this unlikely to succeed.
Despite facing a range of criminal and civil charges, Trump has largely been able to avoid serious legal consequences so far, including for his criminal conviction earlier this year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While federal cases involving election interference and classified documents are still pending, Trump cannot overturn state-level rulings, which means the New York fraud case represents a major threat to his financial future.
For now, Trump’s legal team is betting on the argument that the case should be dropped for the sake of unity, but whether that gambit will succeed in the courts remains to be seen.
