Trump Lawyer Implores Letitia James to Heed the Better Angels of Her Nature and Dismiss Civil Fraud Case

His may not be a household name yet, but if you’re reading this, chances are you’re familiar with D. John Sauer’s work. In July of 2023, he testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and particularly in relation to the Missouri v. Biden (now Murthy v. Missouri) case involving the federal government’s censorship endeavors. 

But Sauer’s true star turn came in January and April of 2024 when he argued the presidential immunity issue on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, respectively. 

The Supreme Court’s decision on the immunity issue was a significant win for Trump, who apparently was pleased with Sauer’s work as he subsequently tapped him to serve as Solicitor General in the incoming administration.

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But Sauer is also representing Trump in his appeal of the $454 million civil fraud judgment entered against him by Judge Arthur Engoron in February in the suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. As such, Sauer has now penned a letter to James imploring her to agree to vacate the judgment and dismiss all claims against Trump in the interest of ending partisan strife. 

The entire four-page missive is worth a read, as Sauer eloquently and persuasively pleads his client’s case, but here are some of the highlights:

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. This call for unity extends to the legal onslaught against him and his family that permeated the most recent election cycle. This case, like the many others against President Trump, is a flashpoint of national partisan division. As counsel for President Trump in this appeal —and now as his nominee for Solicitor General of the United States—I have had the opportunity to ‘experience this partisan division personally, and I strongly believe that it is necessary for the health of our Republic for the strife and lawfare to end. You now have the singular opportunity to help cure this division. 

Sauer points out the recent actions taken by Special Counsel Jack Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as to their respective prosecutions in response to Trump’s reelection. He then lays out why the civil fraud case should never have been brought as it exceeds James’ statutory authority, asserting that it was barred by the statute of limitations, involved no victims, complaints, injuries, or losses, the court’s valuation decisions were “wildly inaccurate,” and there was no evidence supporting any findings of “misstatements” by the Trump entities. Moreover, as Sauer notes, the judgment has had a chilling effect on New York businesses. 

Sauer then notes the positive impacts of Trump’s businesses in New York:

President Trump is one of the most successful developers in the history of New York. He rebuilt the New York skyline, created thousands of jobs, rescued and rejuvenated historic Wollman Rink, developed the $3 billion West Side Railyards from 59th to 72nd Street in Manhattan, was deeply involved in developing the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and is singularly responsible for many other successes. This lawsuit against him “vindicates no public purpose.” People ex rl. Spitzer v. Grasso, 54 A.D.3d 180, 196 (1st Dep’t 2008). 

Sauer then notes that, given Trump’s reelection, the continuation of the lawsuit raises serious constitutional concerns “and greatly disserves the national interest.” He then closes out with some soaring rhetoric, steeped in tradition and history and with even a nod to Thanksgiving:

In his Farewell Address, President George Washington warned against “[t]he altemate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and counties has perpetrated the most horrid enormities * Washington’s Farewell Address 13 (1796), at hitps:/www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewel_Address.pdf. Such factional division and strife, President Washington warned, ultimately leads to the “ruins of public liberty.” Id. at 13-14. As a modern statesman and icon of the Democratic party, President John F. Kennedy, stated:

“The time has come for intellectuals and politicians alike to put aside those horrible weapons of modern internecine warfare, the barbed thrust, the acid pen, and, most sinister of all, the rhetorical blast. Let us not emphasize all on which we diffe but all we have in common. Let us consider not what we fear separately but what we share together.

Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 14, 1956, at hitps:/swww fklibrary.org archives other-resources/john–kennedy-speeches/ harvard: university-19560614. President Kennedy’s vision of unity applies here.

On October 3, 1863—the time of our Nation’s greatest division—President Abraham Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation, establishing the national holiday that we celebrate this week. See President Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation (Oct. 3, 1863).” President Lincoln called for the American people to set aside their bitter divisions so that the blessings of liberty could be “solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people.” Id. He urged all Americans to “fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, a soon as ‘may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.” d_ Invoking the same spirit of unity, we request that you stipulate to the vacatur of the Judgment and dismissal of this case with prejudice.

Given Letitia James’ initial response to Trump’s reelection, one suspects she’ll not respond favorably to Sauer’s appeal to her better angels. But one never knows…

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