September 21, 2022

"But Mr. Trump and his allies are clearly hoping they can deflect whatever political fallout Ms. James’s lawsuit inspires by drawing on past legal battles..."

"... all of which, so far, the longtime real estate baron has survived with the agility of an alley cat."

Writes Blake Hounshell with the zeal of a pizza rat.

I'm reading "The Political Backdrop of Letitia James’s Lawsuit Against Trump" (NYT).

I thought the "alley cat" was silly and gratuitous, but I care about the political dimension of the civil suit brought by Letitia James, the New York attorney general. How to make us believe it's all about the rule of law?
She rattled off statistics to highlight the breadth of the three-year investigation: interviews with over 65 witnesses; millions of documents; a complaint more than 200 pages long, with examples from more than 23 assets. Her office found over 200 false valuations, she said, calling it evidence of a scheme that she characterized as “astounding.” 
But Ms. James, a Democrat, also trotted out a catchphrase that had the whiff of the kind of branding that has made Mr. Trump a survivor over his four decades in business and politics. Claiming money that you do not have, Ms. James said, is not “the art of the deal” but rather “the art of the steal”....

87 comments:

alanc709 said...

Letitia James needed 3 tries to pass the New York bar exam. This is the legal mind running the state's legal system. But, she's the perfect color to satisfy the left, where merit has no place.

Richard Aubrey said...

Why does it matter if we believe it's about the rule of law. The dems know it isn't and don't care. Normal people know it isn't and there's not a single thing we are able to do about it So belief is irrelevant.

Mr Wibble said...

Yeah, this is going nowhere. No walls closing in.

All that they've done is guarantee that Trump is the nominee in 2024.

Andy said...

I guess NY doesn’t have the evidence to charge him with a crime.

Big Mike said...

I haven’t read the suit, nor will I. When a lawyer describes a filing as a “dog’s breakfast,” then the legal reasoning must be truly convoluted. There is a claim by a lawyer who has read the suit that it is a civil suit, yet no damages are alleged. Seems weird to this non-lawyer. How can a person be sued to collect zero damages?

My going in position is that this suit was meant to be dismissed, but only after the midterms. In other words, purely for political headlines.

Drago said...

"Writes Blake Hounshell with the zeal of a pizza rat."

Heh. Nicely done.

Drago said...

James' first bite of the apple (all puns intended) was "Trump purposely undervalued his properties", and that one failed.

So now they are going with "Trump purposely overvalued his properties".

After this one fails they'll go with "Trump purposely neither undervalued NOR overvalued his properties....just like Hitler!".

rhhardin said...

Rule of law is a constraint on the government, not the citizens. Bill of attainder and retroactive laws come to mind in this case, as violating rule of law.

Drago said...

Big Mike: "My going in position is that this suit was meant to be dismissed, but only after the midterms. In other words, purely for political headlines."

Correct.

James has fallen behind the republican in the polls and this is a desperation ploy to get back into the game and to spool up the democraticals army of gadflys and Ingas.

rhhardin said...

The way you get calm and normalcy is not by voting against Trump but by voting against democrats.

Xmas said...

If this comes down to tax valuations and loan valuations being different, they should impeach that DA.

rhhardin said...

Alley cat is a reference to Trump's sexual activities. The female alley cats are let off the hook. They're just gold-diggers.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

That they are going ahead with this could mean Garland's top-secret trove might be floundering... The Feds don't have a case. Or the NY case is a backup. Maybe they are going all out not holding anything back.

Wa St Blogger said...

A DA filing a civil suit? Because she doesn't have the necessary facts for a criminal suit? All tailored to be filed just before midterms but not dismissed until after they are over?

Sounds like something like this should be illegal with penalties involved.

Gusty Winds said...

Democrats sure aren't acting worried about losing the Senate or swing state Governors races in the upcoming midterm elections. They are protected by the baked in swing state fraud.

Follow the trajectory. I'm guessing this is just a foreshadowing and a warning of what they are willing to do to American citizens that support Trump or oppose them publicly. You think they're going to let "MAGA-fascists" operate without legal harassment?

This is going to get WAY worse. What do you think all the 89K new IRS agents are going to do to keep busy? They're going to knock on your fuckin' door.

Think of the amount of Soros funded DAs, Liberal Attorneys General and the liberal judges being appointed. Violent crime is rapidly rising in areas they control... The "rule of law" now means the "rule of the left".

TeaBagHag said...

Trump commits constant fraud over his career, breaks laws to support his empire. The proof is well documented and laid out in a crystal clear manner.

The rubes that constitute his cult, grasp at straws to defend him. The only defense seems to be, witchhunt! No one actually counters the facts,

See below:

lgv said...

About a dozen motions from now, no one will remember this suit. The next AG will quietly drop the charges or settle for a pittance with no admission of guilt. It's the same old crap. It's like a Hollywood script about an aging hitman doing his last job, or a bank robber pulled out of near retirement for one last heist.

Buckwheathikes said...

Donald Trump is learning a valuable lesson here that he needs to learn: Do it to them, before they have a chance to do it to you. Because they will, if you give them half a chance.

Don't threaten to do it.

FUCKING DO IT.

He claimed he would put Hillary Clinton in prison. But then he didn't do that. So then now everybody knows that he's a pussy who talks a big game, but then doesn't follow through.

Once everyone knows you're a pussy, they can just grab you. They can just grab you by your pussy.

That's a lesson Donald Trump needs to learn. That's also a lesson that Ron DeSantis needs to learn. And that's a lesson that every future Republican presidential-wanna-be needs to learn.

You have to actually do it. You can't just threaten to get rid of these people.

You actually have to DO IT.

GET.

RID.

OF.

THEM.

Buckwheathikes said...

Donald Trump is learning a valuable lesson here that he needs to learn: Do it to them, before they have a chance to do it to you. Because they will, if you give them half a chance.

Don't threaten to do it.

FUCKING DO IT.

He claimed he would put Hillary Clinton in prison. But then he didn't do that. So then now everybody knows that he's a pussy who talks a big game, but then doesn't follow through.

Once everyone knows you're a pussy, they can just grab you. They can just grab you by your pussy.

That's a lesson Donald Trump needs to learn. That's also a lesson that Ron DeSantis needs to learn. And that's a lesson that every future Republican presidential-wanna-be needs to learn.

You have to actually do it. You can't just threaten to get rid of these people.

You actually have to DO IT.

GET.

RID.

OF.

THEM.

Curious George said...

Hey, Andrew Cuomo just filed an ethics complaint against James:

"AG James purposefully inserted herself in an investigation which posed a clear conflict of interest and then misled the public to create a political situation forcing my resignation"

Dave Begley said...

All this drama regarding Trump makes me hope he doesn't run.

I want Ron.

Curious George said...

"TeaBagHag said...
Trump commits constant fraud over his career, breaks laws to support his empire. The proof is well documented and laid out in a crystal clear manner.

The rubes that constitute his cult, grasp at straws to defend him. The only defense seems to be, witchhunt! No one actually counters the facts,

See below:"

Nothing below LOL

Mike Sylwester said...

This lawsuit is what might happen if a state's attorney general was elected just because of her race and sex. That position requires also good judgement and legal principles.

hawkeyedjb said...

If this was about valuation of properties for loans... why aren't the lenders suing Trump? Seems like the State of New York has no skin in that game. If it's about tax valuation... that is up to the tax authorities.

Hmm, this makes me think there may be a political aspect to this 'lawsuit' that isn't entirely explained by reference to The Law.

Yancey Ward said...

"Once everyone knows you're a pussy, they can just grab you."

This is what happened to Howard.

Mike Sylwester said...

Dave Begley at 5:25 PM
All this drama regarding Trump makes me hope he doesn't run. I want Ron.

I will be happy if the continual persecution of Trump results in his not being our Republican nominee for the 2024 Presidential election.

I too want DeSantis to be our nominee.

Howard said...

Ann Althouse sullies your safe space and triggering ensues.

Quaestor said...

"You have to actually do it. You can't just threaten to get rid of these people. You actually have to DO IT."

Genghis Khan for President!

Make Mongolia Great Again!

No, seriously, Genghis Khan can solve lots of geopolitical problems AND build a pyramid of Democrat skulls.

Xi Jinping -- DEAD!

Kim Jong-un -- DEAD!

Vlad Putin -- DEAD!

Marmelard -- DEAD!

Niedermeier -- DEAD!

Wormer -- DEAD!

Niedermeier's horse -- DEAD!

(We got that one already.)

Neidermeier's horse -- Fed to Flounder's brother's springer spaniel!

Amadeus 48 said...

You can trust me. I was a lawyer.

My first question always was, "Are we buying or selling?"

"the rule of law"?

We don't do that here.

Spiros said...

I don't think the "Rule of Law," which is more about the separation of judicial power from executive and legislative authority than anything else, is threatened by Ms. James' behavior.

Leland said...

This lawsuit is what might happen if a state's attorney general was elected just because of her race and sex.

Or, if she ran on the promise to prosecute Trump, which suggests this case is about her political career than the law. I realize she's trying this in Democrat friendly NY, but I do wonder if you can really sell a fair application of the law, when the verdict was announced prior to identifying the crime.

Bob Boyd said...

All this drama regarding Trump makes me hope he doesn't run. I want Ron.

Fair enough, but do you think they'll cut Ron any slack? If the pattern holds, they'll be telling us, "Not even President Trump would go that far!"

If DeSantis is a threat to the Regime, he'll get the same treatment Trump has gotten and worse. They're already calling him Hitler and suing him for the Martha's Vineyard move. And if DeSantis isn't a threat to the deep state then what good is he?

Not sure you can blame all the drama on Trump. Most of it comes from the hysterical reaction to Trump. Perhaps DeSantis will handle it all better. Who knows. He's been very impressive as governor, for sure.

If I decide I prefer DeSantis, it won't be because of the drama, but because I think DeSantis will be smarter about government, about using his power and his office and about how it all works.

Is Trump distasteful? Personnally, I don't give a fuck...I mean, compared to what? The Bidens? The GOPe? The left in general?

Gusty Winds said...

Have you come to accept that Liberals have NO INTENTION of letting our political and civil differences be solved at the ballot box?

They are using the rules of their own law.

tim in vermont said...

This is why I think TBH is a parody account. If he broke any laws, it would be an indictment.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Tiring... so tiring. Clearly this douche nozzle doesn't feel like working. Thus the "Public Service" ruse. New York does deserve it, though.

boatbuilder said...

I suppose that means that when you sell your house, you are committing fraud if you don't put it on the market for the assessed value.

DanTheMan said...

I posted this a few years ago... I see that it is still applicable.

Can't we all just get along? I offer the following modest proposal:

1) Everything Trump does is wrong. Even if later it turns out to be right, he did it too late or too early, or for the wrong reason.
2) Everything Trump says is a lie. Even if it is actually true, there will be some tiny detail that was not 100% accurate. So the entire statement is a lie.
3) Everything is Trump's fault. No matter when or where it happened, it somehow ties back to something Trump did or didn't do.
4) Everything Trump does is motivated by evil reasons. No matter how innocent it may seem, there's a dark and nefarious desire at work.
5) Anything good that happens while Trump is president is due to someone else's policies, or random chance.

If we can all just agree to these principles, our conversations here will be much more civil.
As I hope is very obvious, some of Ann's commenters are already following these rules. It would be helpful if the rest of us would agree to them as well.

rcocean said...

Fuck her. And fuck anyone who thinks this is a valid lawsuit. Sorry, time has past for the "Gosh. maybe both sides are wrong" cuckery.

If you want these people ruling forever, keep going with the moderate "I'm above it all" bullshit.

Jupiter said...

It's fortunate for Letitia James that she went to law school. She's too stupid and dishonest to be a cheap whore.

boatbuilder said...

Buckwheat--Trump didn't even get a chance to use his own AG. Sessions was a plant, who recused himself from anything "political", and Barr was and is on Team Deepstate.

Buckwheathikes said...

"do you think they'll cut Ron any slack?"

300 Martha's Vineyard lawyers have already filed individual lawsuits against him. He'll be too busy testifying to run for President.

Lawfare works! That's why Shakespeare said: First, kill the lawyers.

That's great advice.

You can't beat these psychopaths at their game. You have to play a different game.

Buckwheathikes said...

"do you think they'll cut Ron any slack?"

300 Martha's Vineyard lawyers have already filed individual lawsuits against him. He'll be too busy testifying to run for President.

Lawfare works! That's why Shakespeare said: First, kill the lawyers.

That's great advice.

You can't beat these psychopaths at their game. You have to play a different game.

boatbuilder said...

"I don't think the "Rule of Law," which is more about the separation of judicial power from executive and legislative authority than anything else, is threatened by Ms. James' behavior."

Huh? Is Ms. James not an officer of the law, appointed by the executive?

Isn't this precisely about the abuse and debasement of the "Rule of Law" by the State?

boatbuilder said...

My mistake--she was elected. Which I suppose makes her a direct representive of the executive power of the state. Whose duty is to enforce and promote the "Rule of Law."

I think "The Rule of Law" is in very bad shape, if this is what those charged with carrying it out are up to.

Mikey NTH said...

Others hit on the obvious - who was damaged? If the banks were damaged then the banks have plenty of lawyers and accountants to take a case to court. But they haven't so they think the deal was a fair one for them.

If it was the tax authorities then why didn't they object years ago? Perhaps tax assessors don't take the taxed party's word for it and do their own assessment.

If it was a buyer or seller of real property they also do their own assessments and bidding.

A stunt by a desperate AG that vowed to get Trump and came up with this nothing burger - where's the beef?

YoungHegelian said...

I'm so glad to see that the State of New York is looking out for those poor oppressed citizens who so bravely serve as real estate bankers.

I'm sorry, but is this for fucking real?! Does Ms James expect us to believe that the NYC lenders who wrote the loans to the Trump Company didn't do their due diligence on loans or lines of credit worth tens of millions of dollars?

Well, maybe the Trumpies did overvalue their holdings. So what! I'm sure NYC real estate lenders have seen every fucking trick in the book and then some. It's New York City, for God's sake, not a line of credit to Goober to build a barn on the outskirts of Mayberry. If the banks don't like Trump's valuations or the cleanliness of his books, they can always refuse to make the loan.

Who's the victim here? The banks, who aren't party to this suit? This is political persecution, pure and simple.

boatbuilder said...

If they don't have anything on DiSantis they will plant it. And they will suppport the fiction until they can't anymore, and then they will plant a new one.

They did it to Trump. They will do it to DiSantis.

I hope DiSantis is the fighter he appears to be. I know Trump is.

wendybar said...

@ClayTravis
Democrats are desperate to put Trump on the ballot in the midterm because otherwise they have to defend Biden’s failures on inflation/economy, the border and crime.
12:52 PM · Sep 21, 2022

Mason G said...

"All this drama regarding Trump makes me hope he doesn't run.

I want Ron."


Really? You don't think there'll be drama if Ron runs?

Yancey Ward said...

DeSantis vs Trump is still ignoring the elephant in the room- that only Trump among Republican candidates of the last 34 years, won at least once in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania.

The sad fact is this- since Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, and New Hampshire have turned reliably blue, a Republican can't win the Presidency without at least one of those midwest states. It is either that, or a Republican candidate for the presidency has to find a way to get, at a minimum, Virginia back into the toss up category to even have a chance to win. Remember- if Trump had won all the states Romney won in 2012, and added Ohio, Florida, and Virginia to the tally, it wouldn't have been enough. I like DeSantis, but can DeSantis win the midwest states the way Trump did in 2016?

I don't know the answer to that question, but it is the key question, and always was.

Mason G said...

"Is Trump distasteful? Personnally, I don't give a fuck...I mean, compared to what? The Bidens? The GOPe? The left in general?"

I'll be interested in reading the replies to those questions.

Tomcc said...

From what little I've read, the suit is making the allegation that the Trump clan overstated the value of assets to gain the benefit of tax credits and loans. How exactly was the State of New York harmed in these transactions?

Carol said...

A civil action yet she cites criminal statutes?

Aren't the lenders and insurers the ones who have standing to sue?

Guess I don't understand AG stuff.

Another old lawyer said...

Broken record comment - the Ds/Left WANT Trump to be the nominee, and want Rs to nominate him. They're continually attacking Trump so in primaries Rs will vote for Trump out of spite if nothing else BUT in the general election the persuadables in the middle who ultimately decide elections won't vote for Trump.

Of course DeSantis will be attacked, there will be drama, etc., etc. just like with Romney, McCain, etc., etc.

BUT with DeSantis or another R candidate the persuadables won't start from a 'no way in hell' position that too many are already at with Trump.

Rs need the toughest minded SOB who isn't afraid of bold moves in reforming the federal gov't, and should be seeking to nominate that person. And in no way nominate Trump, who frankly has shown he doesn't fit that description.

To Althouse: sorry, there won't be a candidate you can vote for that will result in a return to normalcy or political calm. There aren't enough shared values, there are too many unsettled issues on matters of principle, there are too many smartphones and too much social media, and there isn't a single trustworthy source of accurate reporting.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Weird how the left never cared before about Trump's business practices.

He's been in business for decades.

Sebastian said...

"She rattled off statistics"

To illustrate their obsession?

readering said...

Federal, State and local governments go after companies and individuals every day seeking civil remedies for violations that private parties would also have standing to sue over. Perhaps most notably, many commenters here call for action to be taken against the big tech companies on the West Coast. I'm dealing on behalf of a corporate client with a prelitigation investigation as we speak.

Whether there is merit the complaint is another matter. Instead of tackling that behemoth of a complaint, I chose to use spare Trump time today to read the 29-page per curiam order from the eleventh Circuit (2 Trump appointees and an Obama appointee) slapping down the MAL judge on DOJ investigatory access to documents from the search and seizure marked classified. Took them a day. They refer for supporting facts to the Special Master proceedings yesterday, so I I'd say Trump and his attorneys are not getting a look at anything marked classified unless and until he's indicted. They don't even seem to care if he actually declassified any. He's still an ex-president, and it's up to the incumbent to say he should have access to such stuff, which remains sensitive for the reasons it was classified in the first place.

Maybe time for Trump to use more of his PAC $$ for more lawyers. I see the PAC reported paying $3M in August to the best firm in West Palm Beach. But I have not seen them fila an appearance in anything.

One question I have is whether the same panel will hear the next interlocutory appeal in the affair Trump. I am guessing not, that the next set of papers to the court of appeals will be directed to a different motions panel.

Drago said...

Yancey Ward: "I like DeSantis, but can DeSantis win the midwest states the way Trump did in 2016?"

No.

DeSantis and his backers know this. They have to figure out a way to give those voters enough hope that DeSantis is not another of those professional politicians who owes everything to Wall Street (which is how DeSantis is currently viewed by those critically important voters) and won't sell them (those voters) out to the establishment.

DeSantis has raised a record amount of cash for his reelection campaign (well over $200M) and almost all of it comes from those very Wall Street/Chamber of Commerce types who've spent the last decades sending US jobs overseas and selling out the US.

Worse, DeSantis hasn't even tipped his cap yet to the economic nationalist policies that are an absolute requirement to securing those midwest votes.

That is a very large hurdle for DeSantis to overcome.

Time will tell.

rcocean said...

We want Ron. no drama.

Jeb supporters.

Aka Losers.

Howard said...

My TDS wife was telling me some hedge fund billionaire is setting up shop in Miami Beach and wants to bankroll Ronda Santos to the Whitehouse.

I'm sure it's probably bullshit, but that's all I got.

Krumhorn said...

All of this is laying the groundwork for a devastating pattern of tit for tat. By 'all of this', I mean impeachments, DOJ raids, and actions by state's attorneys. No doubt, the first chance that the stars align, the DemoRats can fully expect to be on the receiving end of this down the road as well. American history had, up until now, been blissfully free of this sort of thing.

As has often been recited on the streets, paybacks are a mf'er.

- Krumhorn

narciso said...

Yes the founder of citadel moved to miami because fat pritzker turned the state intona dumpster fire

Mutaman said...

alanc709 said...

"Letitia James needed 3 tries to pass the New York bar exam. This is the legal mind running the state's legal system. But, she's the perfect color to satisfy the left, where merit has no place."

When a white guy (Mario Biagi, JFK JR) needs to do over the bar, crackers like alanc709 never say a word.

No link supporting alanc709's statement so its probably Know Nothing bs.

StoughtonSconnie said...

Having worked for 28 years at a financial institution that does real estate loans, I am quite sure that 99% of our borrowers borrow using a value (AVM or appraisals) that is higher, sometimes substantially so, than the tax assessed value. The difference in rates and payments, especially if you can avoid having to pay Private Mortgage Insurance, can be substantial. Should all of our borrowers fear a knock on the door from our local DA now? I admit the scale is different with the real estate that Trump is working vs my suburban home, but I honestly can’t get worked up over this. Trump simply has good real estate lawyers, big deal.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

“I want to personally thank [James] for acknowledging my participation and assistance in bringing accountability to the Mandarin Mussolini!” Cohen tweeted. “My journey to the truth has been filled with sadness, pain and anger. Today's announcement makes it [all] worth it!!!”
Cohen says he's glad Individual #1 finally recognized as the king of fraud. The FIXER did fix it.

Michael said...

Right. And Deutsche Bank was so incredibly stupid that they lent 80% LTV on those over valued assets. And DB is not a party? Now it may be easy enough to fool the readers of the NYT on real estate valuations but it will be interesting to hear the valuation experts who put those numbers up. You don’t get to set stupid valuations for bankers. They do the valuations. Not the other way around. OTOH it is not illegal to inflate your worth to journalists or the guy next to you at the bar. But that isn’t fraud.

Mutaman said...

alanc709 said...

" Letitia James needed 3 tries to pass the New York bar exam.'

I can't find anything that supports this. Can you provide a link, Sparky. No Breitbart or NY Post please.

narciso said...

They want to eradicate all opposition so only those traitors to china iran qatar can rule

Mutaman said...


Blogger Krumhorn said...

"American history had, up until now, been blissfully free of this sort of thing."

See Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohen. Or Whitewater. or Obama's birth certificate.
Krumhorn learned his history at Trump University.

Maynard said...

From what little I've read, the suit is making the allegation that the Trump clan overstated the value of assets to gain the benefit of tax credits and loans. How exactly was the State of New York harmed in these transactions?

The harm would be to the banks who would have lost money in the deals.

However, the banks made money and are not suing for damages.

This is desperately stupid BS that only the Ingas in this world would buy into.

walter said...

So we can overvalue our propert for better tax rate? Cool!
I heard the whole Trump family was observed wearing overalls and tearing out toilets from certain properties to rig things.

Crazy World said...

Surely this is fair and balanced, what a sick country we live in right now.

walter said...

Krumhorn,
Depends on who represents the R's.
The Rinos will trade on being polite. You know...that Unity shit Joementia promised.

Achilles said...

Dave Begley said...

All this drama regarding Trump makes me hope he doesn't run.

I want Ron.


The Bush/Romney wing of the GOP comes out again. You don't realize how non-existant you are since 2012.

Desantis just raised millions off of Wall Street. He sold out Lee Zeldin and cancelled all events with him after meeting his new Donors.

Desantis looks like a GOPe Wall Street plant.

But Desnatis OWNED THE LIBS by sending 50 illegals to Marthas Vineyard for mail in vote processing.

Desantis will lose Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan handily because the working class will not turn out for him. He will get Romney numbers in the general.

Desantis is Romney 2.0. 50/50 Desantis listens to his new handlers and money men and goes scorched earth on the other republicans with all that wall street money just like Romney did. He is making really poor decisions lately.

Desantis will lose the general election if he is perceived as anti-Trump in any way.

alanc709 said...

Mutaman said: crackers like alanc709 never say a word.

Do your own work, you racist asshole. By the way, I'm jewish, not white. Care to suggest a nice gas chamber like your former Nazi friends?

RMc said...

All that they've done is guarantee that Trump is the nominee in 2024.

I don't like Donald Trump, and my wife despises him. But I swear to God if this keeps up, we'll both vote for him if he runs next time. (Not that it matters; we live in NY.)

gadfly said...

Once upon a time, Donald Trump grifted thousands upon thousands of students to enroll in what was misnamed "Trump University' and NY AG Tish James got him. And later she dragged the Trump family into court to expose the fake Trump Foundation charity, fining the charity $2 million and putting it out of business.

Now she has 200+ pages of evidence, 400 (or so) fifth amendment pleas to use in civil court related to Trump business rip-offs, and the testimony of Allen Weisselberg, convicted of financially cheating the government on behalf of the Trump Organization.

And just in case anyone has forgotten, Donald's ghost-written book entitled "The Art of the Deal" was nothing but an indulgence of Trump trumpeting Trump.

gadfly said...

Once upon a time, Donald Trump grifted thousands upon thousands of students to enroll in what was misnamed "Trump University' and NY AG Tish James got him. And later she dragged the Trump family into court to expose the fake Trump Foundation charity, fining the charity $2 million and putting it out of business.

Now she has 200+ pages of evidence, 400 (or so) fifth amendment pleas to use in civil court related to Trump business rip-offs, and the testimony of Allen Weisselberg, convicted of financially cheating the government on behalf of the Trump Organization.

And just in case anyone has forgotten, Donald's ghost-written book entitled "The Art of the Deal" was nothing but an indulgence of Trump trumpeting Trump.

Critter said...

This AG spends a lot of money investigating a victimless crime, protecting big banks that are among the most sophisticated lenders in the world, for a premise that totally misunderstands how corporate real estate works, and for practices that would bring every other corporate real estate owner in NY to similar lawsuits. The lawsuit is so embarrassing the top investigators quit the case after telling her there is no case to be made.

The DA is so stupid she should be prosecuted for her stupidity.

Big Mike said...

The following comment by Alan Dershowitz seems appropriate:

“I like Letitia James,” Dershowitz said on Newsmax’s “American Agenda.” “She’s a very nice person, but she campaigned on the promise to get Trump before seeing any evidence, and so she is just fulfilling a campaign promise. You can’t have prosecutors even civilly prosecute a defendant if they made a campaign promise.”

In other words, this is a nuisance lawsuit filed by a political creature to fulfill a campaign promise.

Bill R said...

I liked "zeal of a pizza rat."

Bill Harshaw said...

IMO the writer is wrong: Trump had to close his "charitable foundation" and Trump University after losing legal actions.

Gospace said...

My current assessment on residential real estate is about $110,000. 3,000 sq ft house on 8½ acres. I have replacement cost insurance on the house- covered, by the insurance companies estimate, for $350,000.

Quick- how much is my house worth? If someone offered my $200,000 out of the blue for it, I'd accept the offer. $90,000 I'd think about it. That's what I paid for it in 1997. House needs some work. And the last kid moved out.

Rabel said...

"I don't think the "Rule of Law," which is more about the separation of judicial power from executive and legislative authority than anything else, is threatened by Ms. James' behavior."

Your definition is too narrow.

Mutaman said...

alanc709 said...

alanc709:

" Do your own work"

As I suspected: Cracker Know Nothing BS

alanc709: 2+2=5
Mutaman: Prove it
alanc709: Do your own work

Mutaman said...

alanc709
"By the way, I'm jewish, not white"

Actually you're a genuine idiot. And a fraud who got called out for posting a lie.

Rabel said...

Which bright shiny object will the Surrender Caucus attach itself to once the media and the DOJ have sufficiently dirtied-up DeSantis?

Trump 2024.