New York attorney general urges court to reinstate Trump’s $500m fraud fine

Letitia James seeks to reverse appeals court's decision to wipe away president's penalty in financial fraud case

New York's attorney general has requested the state's highest court reinstate Donald Trump's large civil fraud penalty, appealing a lower-court decision that slashed the potential half-billion dollar penalty to nothing.

Attorney general Letitia James's office filed a notice of appeal with the state's court of appeals, seeking to reverse the mid-level appellate division's ruling last month that the penalty violated the US constitution's ban on excessive fines.