“President Trump has an 8th amendment challenge to the unconstitutional fines levied against him by a rogue judge,” Constitutional Scholar Mark Levin noted Tuesday, commenting on the extraordinary $370 million fine (including interest) imposed by a New York judge.
Later that day, former President Trump posted the text of the 8th Amendment on TruthSocial.com platform, later linking to the same article linked by Levin in his comment posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The text of the 8th Amendment states:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
In “Stalinist $370M judgment against Trump should be vacated immediately,” Arthur Fergenson, senior counsel with Ansa Assuncao LLP, explains both the “Stalinist” nature and 8th Amendment violation of Judge Arthur Engoron’s onerous decree:
“Professor Jonathan Turley called the $370 million judgment confiscatory, extreme and abusive. Professor Steven Calabresi termed it a travesty and an unjust political act. The subhead for his online commentary employed the term ‘Stalinist.’ Both law professors are right.
“Because the judgment does not relate to any loss, the $370 million is not, properly understood, violative of the prohibition against grossly excessive punitive damages. It does fall, however, directly within the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
As Levin, Fergenson, Turley, Calabresi and a host of other constitutional experts have noted, the fine is extraordinary, not only because of its unprecedented size, but also because it punishes Trump for a fraud conviction, in which no one was actually defrauded.
President Trump has an 8th amendment challenge to the unconstitutional fines levied against him by a rogue judgehttps://t.co/moDes6vlVu
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) February 20, 2024
