A judge fined former President Donald Trump in a civil fraud case, and New York's attorney general moved toward seizing property Trump owns. Trump compared the process with taking properties in communist countries -- but Trump had due process.

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

51% : After a trial that lasted more than two months, Engoron ruled Feb. 16 that Trump had inflated the value of many of his real estate holdings to get more favorable loan and insurance terms.
47% : Trump wrote March 25 on Truth Social, "We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash.
47% : The judge's ruling followed a public trial that lasted more than two months; Trump had legal representation and due process.
45% : Trump had faced a March 25 deadline to secure a bond to cover the $454 million fine and interest as he appeals the ruling.
44% : When the government seizes property owned by local residents, it does so via executive decrees that lack supporting legal procedures, a chance of defense or public transparency.
39% : But an appeals court on March 25 lowered that amount to $175 million and gave Trump 10 days to pay it.
32% : "The context of what (Attorney General) James is doing with Trump is completely different, narrowly targeted, and not part of any general move against the capitalist notion or right of private property," Henken said.
31% : Trump said the New York civil fraud judgment against him and a plan to seize Trump-owned property "is simply a 'taking.'
27% : Experts told us the civil fraud case and potential property seizure against Trump is not the same as what happens in communist countries.
26% : James' office filed paperwork to begin taking Trump's assets in Westchester County, New York -- where his golf course and private estate Seven Springs are -- if Trump does not pay the bond.
25% : The judgment was predicated on extensively documented misrepresentations by Trump, Shaviro said.
13% : Trump wrote March 22 in a Truth Social post that criticized Judge Arthur Engoron and Attorney General Letitia James.
11% : James filed a fraud case against Trump in 2022, giving Trump "loads of time to plan for this scenario," Shaviro said.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.