New York Judge Arthur Engoron made headlines last week when he ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $364 million.

While that ruling was cheered by many on the left, one legal expert quickly did a televised takedown of Engoron's decision.

Law professor compares judge's ruling to "a wood chipper"

Jonathan Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School, and he told Fox News, "The court really proved Oscar Wilde's rule, that the only way to be rid of temptation is to yield to it."

BREAKING: Legal scholar Professor Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) EXPLODES After Judge Engoron Hits Trump with $364 Million Fine and 3-Year Ban in New York Civil Fraud Case, Says, "None of us could find a case like this!" Well, no one else has gone through this!!!!! WATCH pic.twitter.com/3Lk5Ef3tRl

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 16, 2024

"Because the court has done everything short of ordering that Trump be thrown into a wood chipper," stressing that Trump has been banned from doing business in "a city where he is an iconic business figure."

Engoron's judgment came in response to a lawsuit in which New York Attorney General Leticia James alleged that Trump had inflated the value of his properties when seeking bank loans.

Banks had no complaints over Trump's dealings

As Turley pointed out, none of the allegedly defrauded banks ever voiced complaints regarding Trump and the former president's lawyers put forward evidence showing that they were eager to lend him money.

The Associated Press reported that emails from November 2011 were introduced showing then Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic characterizing Trump as a "whale" with whom the bank sought to do business.

Vrablic also spoke positively of a meeting she had with Donald Trump Jr., an encounter she described as being "very nice" and "productive."

Meanwhile, another email saw Deutsche Bank co-chair Anshu Jain suggest "leveraging Mr. Trump’s personal and professional network within the real estate industry."

Ruling could drive businesses away from New York

While speaking with Fox News, Turley pointed out that these facts fit with one of the oddities of New York law, which "does not require that anyone actually lose money."

"And so James was able to come in here with this [fraud] figure, and she kept on going up," the legal expert acknowledged.

Turley went on to argue that this past Friday's actions could encourage business owners to avoid New York due to a fear of being targeted for political reasons.

"It's one of the greatest ironies of this case: In the name of protecting businesses in New York, you probably just led to hundreds of businesses looking at potential rentals in Florida because they look and they go, 'wow, if we fall on the wrong side of the politics in New York, they could sell us off for spare parts,'" he remarked.