N.Y.’s crusading attorney general tackles big targets such as Trump and Cuomo
The Case for the NRA: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Attorney General Jennifer Greer, and the New York Gun Rights Group
James is now asking for sweeping financial penalties against the NRA and its top leaders, as well as new restrictions that could permanently hobble the gun rights group’s operations.
There were no factual allegations made by the NRA that the Attorney General wasn’t interested in or believed the reports on fraud, waste and loot within the organization.
In legal filings, the NRA claimed that James’ lawsuit was part of a witch hunt intended to weaken and silence a conservative advocacy group.
The next test for James’ crusading legal approach will be when a Manhattan jury decides in the National Rifle Association corruption trial.
She also had a team of lawyers who built strong cases, which allowed her to compete against these high-powered men.
Greer noted that James’ lawsuits are all tested in court, before judges or juries. The power defendants have the opportunity to prove that their cases are flawed.
Christina Greer, a political scientist at the City College of New York who has studied James’ career, said it’s common for prosecutors to take firm public positions, sometimes controversial ones, on policy and the law.
“This case has never been about politics or personal vendettas or about name-calling,” James said last year. The case is about the facts and the law.
Source: N.Y.’s crusading attorney general tackles big targets: Trump, Cuomo and now the NRA
What Letitia James Azzopardi told me about the investigation of the Cuomo-Place-Against-Trump campaign
James did briefly run for governor after Cuomo’s resignation, but her campaign faltered. She withdrew from the governor’s race and instead won a second term as state attorney general in November 2022.
“It’s all about what serves [Letitia] James,” said Rich Azzopardi, a longtime Democratic operative in New York and an adviser to Cuomo. It has nothing to do with the responsibility of the office. I have never seen a more political attorney general.
Members of Andrew Cuomo’s inner circle have also accused James of bias, saying she used her office’s sexual harassment probe to force him out of office.
Turley wrote when James was running for office that there were ethical problems with prosecutors trying to secure office on the pledge to nail one person. “This a trophy pledge that ‘I’m going to bag Donald Trump.'”
Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, spoke about James and his actions on the program.
Sean Hannity commented on the TV channel in October that they’re going in with a pre-ordained agenda and making a campaign promise. Does that sound like justice?
A Corrupt Attorney General in New York State: Trump Blasted by the Fulton County District Attorney Fifteen Years after the 2020 Presidential Election
Trump is accused of improper handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, also a Democrat, is pursuing criminal charges against Trump linked to allegations that he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Trump has used his legal troubles as a way to raise money for his reelection and argue that he is being politically persecution.
Trump again blasted James, using a racially charged nickname and accusing her in a post on his Truth Social site of being a “fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform.”
“We have evidence about the breadth, the scale, and the depth, of the illegality that personally enriched Donald Trump and his family,” James said.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, spoke to Congress about his dealings with the president.
Despite agreeing to portions of the settlement, Trump fired back, denying wrongdoing and complaining he was being “attacked by the political hacks in New York State.”
James said in a statement that “no one is above the law” when referring to the president’s abuse of power.
James pursued her first civil lawsuit against Trump once she was in office, accusing him of misuse of donations to his charity. Trump paid $2 million and his foundation was dissolved.
“We have a totally corrupt attorney general,” Trump said during a news conference Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., and he promised to appeal.
James became the state’s attorney general five years ago, but has built a reputation as a huge-slayer, targeting some of the most powerful people in the United States.
She was born and raised in Brooklyn and later became the public advocate of New York City after serving on the City Council.
A New High Court Decision by Judge Arthur Engoron on Donald Trump’s Fraud and the How to Run a Business in New York
The scale and scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering and so is his ego and his belief that the rules do not apply to him, she said.
“Donald Trump may have authored The Art of the Deal, but he perfected the art of the steal,” James said at a news conference after the ruling was issued.
When state Judge Arthur Engoron ordered former President Donald Trump and his companies to pay over $355 million for widespread fraud on Friday, it was another stunning victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James.
But, Alexander said, “When you get into a general election, will people say, ‘Wait a second, this is a guy who owes half of a billion dollars in legal penalties, maybe he’s not the right guy to run the country’?”
Trump’s victories in the early Republican primary contests and his sizable lead in nationwide polls suggest that his supporters are not deterred by his legal troubles.
He says that Trump has not put his own money into his campaigns because he is worth more than most other candidates.
Alexander doesn’t think Trump’s ability to pay legal penalties will affect his ability to run a campaign.
That “obviously limits the universe of potential financers for things like the bond, but also for additional financing for any of the Trump ventures,” Wheaton explained.
He also temporarily banned Trump and his two eldest sons from leading their own businesses or applying for financing from any institution that does business in New York.
The judge approved the continued oversight of an independent monitor, a formal federal judge who basically has veto power over many Trump Organization actions, and required it to hire a new compliance officer.
A GoFundMe Page to Help Trump Afford Legal Penalties in New York City Courts: Donald Trump vs. Clayton Trump
There are questions about how Trump will pay the gargantuan amount he owes in civil cases in New York.
Trump will either have other entities postbond on his behalf or he will pay himself.
Even though Trump plans to appeal both rulings, he still needs to meet appeal bond requirements within 30 days of each verdict, Wheaton told NPR’s Morning Edition.
“[The Carroll] judgment was entered about a week ago, and so the 30-day appeal clock is running on that one,” he added. His cash may be impacted by the two judgments.
Dan Alexander, a Forbes editor who has tracked Trump’s wealth over the years, told NPR’s All Things Considered that liquid assets are the first thing that you dispose of. It doesn’t take an expert in mathematics to understand that the penalties he’s facing are not enough to pay.
Now some of Trump’s supporters are donating specifically to help pay his $355 million fraud judgment, via a GoFundMe page created by Elena Cardone, the wife of investor Grant Cardone.
The backlash on social media was caused by the fact that the fundraiser had made over $700,000. The money raised is within the terms of service, according to the fundraiser on Monday.
Source: Trump faces some half a billion dollars in legal penalties. How will he pay them?
Trump’s golden high-tops as a reminder of the three levels of laws in the early stage of the four-year Wall Street fraud
The day after Friday’s financial fraud verdict, Trump showed up at a sneaker conference in Philadelphia to unveil a line of golden high-tops, the latest in a line of Trump-branded goods he’s hawked over the years (including wine, steaks and a board game).
Further complicating matters, the judge in the fraud case placed what Wheaton described as “three levels of restrictions” on Trump’s business practices.
