MSNBC Host Has Questions on the Legitimacy of Trump’s New York Business Ban

Sarah Arnold reporting for Townhall 

MSNBC host Katy Tur is questioning the legitimacy of whether the ban against former President Trump's businesses is "fair."

On Friday, Trump was ordered to pay over $350 million in damages and banned from running his business in New York for three years in a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Tur highlighted the 70-year-old legal rule, the New York Civil Practice Law, Judge Arthur Engoron used to determine the outcome of Trump’s trial. She pointed out that it has never been used against a person who has yet to be proven to be doing harm to any individual or entity with their practice.

“[The rule] doesn't have to show the harm done. It's not the burden. You don't have to show that anybody was hurt by your practices. There's nobody you defrauded specifically,” Tur said. “They looked at 150 cases over 70 years and found there was no case where there was a ban on doing business where there wasn't harm shown. So even though the threshold is harm shown, in the past, it has only been used to ban someone doing business when it's been shown that somebody was hurt, say you're selling cosmetics that are poisoning you. Is it fair to go after Donald Trump like this in this environment, is my question?”

Tur accused the judge of having the “intention to deceive” and sought an opportunity to punish Trump. 

Many commentators noted the hefty fine Trump is ordered to pay, yet no victims were harmed in the case. The bank's Trump supposedly “defrauded” provided testimony defending the former president. 

“Some people in real estate, businesses in real estate, have said that they're worried about what this is going to mean going forward for their business,” Tur said.