US: Donald Trump targets New York Attorney General Letitia James
US: On social media, former president Donald Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling her a “total disaster.”
The Republican presidential candidate posted on his Truth Social platform, saying, “This Witch Hunt, by Letitia James, is SO BAD for New York City and State.”
Trump claimed that businesses are being discouraged from investing in New York by the almost $500 million civil fraud judgment he was forced to pay as a result of a case filed by James. In order to close transactions and get loans, Trump lied for years about his wealth on papers sent to banks, insurers, and other parties, according to a February ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron.
The former president and the other defendants were sentenced by the court to pay more than $350 million in fines; this amount has now increased to almost $489 million with interest. “Companies are refusing to come in and invest as long as it is outstanding, and others are leaving because of it and nothing can stop them,” Trump said on Twitter.
“JOBS and New York State are being negatively impacted in a way that has never been seen in a legal matter before—a complete and utter disaster! Knowing this, Letitia James doesn’t seem to care since, to her, it’s just another political campaign. Very depressing for our nation.”
Trump’s remark was a reaction to an opinion piece titled “Letitia James may be winning lawfare but losing the war,” which was written by lawyer and legal commentator Jonathan Turley and published by The Hill.
Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, supports Trump in his legal challenges and is mentioned in the piece. He spoke about a hearing held last week in which the Republican’s lawyers asked a New York appeals court to set out or lessen a verdict for civil fraud that might end up costing Trump close to $500 million on Thursday.
John Sauer, the attorney for Trump, said during Thursday’s arguments that the ruling was “draconian” and that no one was directly harmed since the banks engaged in the transactions had been satisfied. According to Newsweek, at least two judges were dubious about the significance of the ruling.
James’ “political success” in “weaponizing her office has been in stark contrast with her legal setbacks in courts,” Turley noted in his post.Turley noted remarks from Justice David Friedman and Justice Peter Moulton and said that James, a Democrat, “faced openly skeptical justices who raised the very arguments that some of us have made about the ludicrous fine imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron.”
The matter “was never about markets,” according to Turley. It has to do with politics. It doesn’t matter whether the banks were “happy.” In New York, the measure of happiness is political rather than legal.”
According to Turley, James also “faced a stinging defeat” in her legal battle against pregnancy counseling centers and anti-abortion groups for endorsing an untested and unlicensed technique to reverse pharmaceutical abortions. James is prohibited from initiating legal action against pregnancy clinics that endorse the technique by a preliminary injunction given by a federal court last week on the grounds that doing so would impede his right to free expression.
“In the end, James knows her audience, and it is not appellate judges,” Turley said. “If it is discovered that she is assaulting opponents or breaking the Constitution, it makes no difference to her. She has turned the court system in New York into an endless source of entertainment. However, the excitement could have worn off for some judges.”
