The Left’s weaponized justice system just took another devastating hit.
Their star prosecutor is watching her trophy case against Trump crumble in real time.
And Jonathan Turley gave Democrats one warning about Letitia James that left them dreading what comes next.
Jonathan Turley predicts more losses coming for Letitia James
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley appeared on Fox News’s "Faulkner Focus" and delivered some brutal news for Democrats still hoping their lawfare campaign might somehow work.
A New York appeals court just ruled that the $355 million civil penalty Judge Arthur Engoron slapped on Trump violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against excessive fines.
But Turley warned Democrats that this humiliating defeat for Letitia James might just be the beginning.
"This is obviously a tremendous victory for President Trump, but it’s long overdue," Turley told guest host Aishah Hasnie.¹
The legal expert didn’t mince words about what he witnessed during this entire political prosecution.
"During this litigation, many of us described this entire effort as a grotesque use of this New York law. No one lost money in this case. The banks actually wanted more business from President Trump," Turley explained.
"No one had ever seen an effort like this. It was an effort by Letitia James to have a trophy win against Trump and what this opinion has done is reduce what was a mounted marlin to something of a guppy."²
Trump could win even bigger as appeals continue
Here’s where things get really interesting – and really bad for James.
Turley pointed out that the appeals court "has removed the fine and left in place the injunctive relief that President Trump can now appeal."
Trump’s legal team can still appeal the remaining injunctive relief.
"So, it is possible that even that could go to the wayside," Turley predicted.³
Here’s what James and Engoron actually tried to pull.
James built her entire political career on promising to get Trump.
She literally campaigned for attorney general by calling Trump an "illegitimate president" and vowing to investigate him.
Now her signature case – the one that was supposed to be her crowning achievement – is falling apart piece by piece in the appellate courts.
The real story behind James’s dirty tactics
Turley also exposed just how corrupt this entire process was from the beginning.
"I want to note, by the way, that both the judge and James tried to effectively price Trump out of even appealing the case," he revealed.
"They insisted that he would have to pony up half a billion dollars just to question what they did in the case and it was an outrageous effort to effectively price out an appeal."⁴
Here’s the corrupt reality James doesn’t want you to know.
James and Engoron didn’t just want to fine Trump hundreds of millions of dollars for a victimless "crime" where no one lost money.
They actually tried to make it financially impossible for him to even challenge their bogus ruling.
It was lawfare at its most naked and corrupt.
"It didn’t work. Now we can see that the appellate court said this should never have happened in terms of the fine," Turley noted.
What this means for the bigger picture
And you know what? This whole thing proves that the Left’s lawfare strategy was doomed from the start.
Turley pointed out that "many of us stood there in disbelief that James was allowed to do this."
The only reason James got as far as she did was because "she was fortunate enough to secure a very favorable judge, Judge Engoron."
But here’s the thing about the American legal system – it has built-in safeguards against exactly this kind of political persecution.
Appeals courts exist for a reason.
They’re designed to catch corrupt prosecutors and biased judges who think they can weaponize the law for political purposes.
"The good news is really for the New York court system. This regains some of the credibility that was lost during this process," Turley observed.⁵
Look at what actually happened – even liberal New York’s appellate courts couldn’t stomach what James and Engoron tried to pull.
That tells you everything you need to know about how egregious this case really was.
Turley also noted that the ruling "sent a message to the business community, the legal community, that they are not going to allow raw lawfare."
James sued Trump back in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings to obtain loans.
But the banks testified they wanted more business from Trump.
No one lost money.
No one was harmed.
The only "victim" in this case was James’s political ambitions when Trump won the 2024 election.
Now she’s watching her signature prosecution crumble in the courts, and Turley’s warning suggests there’s more pain coming.
The appeals process isn’t over yet, and every ruling so far has gone against the corrupt prosecutor who built her career on promising to get Trump.
This is what happens when you try to weaponize the justice system for political purposes.
Eventually, the law catches up with you.
¹ Harold Hutchison, "Jonathan Turley Says Letitia James Might Not Be Done Losing To Trump Yet," Daily Caller News Foundation, August 21, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
