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New York’s Democratic attorney general, who ran for office vowing to go after Donald Trump, did that yesterday in the form of a civil suit.
Letitia James also named Trump’s kids – Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka – in saying the Trump Organization committed all kinds of fraud in inflating real estate assets to get more favorable loans.
James used her platform – appearing just seconds after President Biden wrapped his U.N. speech denouncing Russia for trying to wipe Ukraine off the map – to accuse the Trumps and the company of violating state laws.
But the reason she can only file a civil suit is that the same allegations were the subject of a criminal probe by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, and he decided not to bring charges, prompting two of his prosecutors to quit.
THE LATEST THREAT TO DEMOCRACY? THE LANGUAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION IS HURTING DEMS
New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference at her office in New York.
(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
James also said she would refer evidence to the Justice Department.
The three-year-old civil probe, in which Trump has pleaded the Fifth, alleges that he crossed all kinds of lines in manipulating the value of his properties “to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system,” James said.
But as she spoke, the sheer complexity of the case became evident. All real estate companies try to make their balance sheets look better than they are and have substantial leeway in doing that legally.
The AG would have to prove that Trump Organization officials shattered legal boundaries in the way they appraised their properties (one example: claiming his Trump Tower apartment was three times its actual size). The Trump side will bring in its own experts who will say these were reasonable valuations – which were accepted by major banks – and this could drag on in court for a long time.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the…
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Source : foxnews
