New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James has a protracted historical past of slamming President-elect Donald Trump, vowing in her first marketing campaign to “take on Donald Trump” if elected, solely to double down on the rhetoric after his huge election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris final week.
“She’s got serious Trump derangement syndrome,” Trump stated initially of the yr as he confronted a civil fraud trial introduced by the New York lawyer common. He has repeatedly accused James of affected by “Trump derangement syndrome” all through a bevy of New York courtroom circumstances introduced towards him by James and different Democrats in New York.
A staunch supporter of the president-elect who has been floated as a possible AG contender has already put James on discover to finish her “lawfare” towards the forty fifth and upcoming forty seventh president in a fiery interview after Trump’s win.
“Let me just say this to Big Tish James, the New York Attorney General. . . . I dare you to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term,” Mike Davis, founding father of the Article III Venture, stated on the “The Benny Show” podcast final week. “Because listen here, sweetheart, we’re not messing around this time. And we will put your fat a– in prison for conspiracy against rights, and I promise you that.”
NEW YORK APPEALS COURT APPEARS RECEPTIVE TO REVERSING OR REDUCING $454M TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT
Fox Information Digital pored by way of James’ historical past as New York lawyer common candidate, compiling the highlights of her authorized battles towards Trump over the past almost seven years.
The Marketing campaign to Take On Trump
Legal professional Normal Letitia James speaks in the course of the press briefing with Governor Kathy Hochul on the Governor’s workplace, discussing the impacts of the 2024 presidential election as former President Donald Trump received a second time period. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Photographs)
James, a former metropolis council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York AG in the course of the 2018 cycle, whereas emphasizing that if she have been elected, she would aggressively pursue expenses towards Trump.
“I’m running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake. From the Muslim ban, to efforts to deport immigrants, to denying transgender students the ability to choose whatever bathroom they want, rolling back regulations to protect our planet, colluding with foreign powers, putting profits over people, dividing us in ways we haven’t seen in generations,” James declared in September of 2018.
“And what is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment. We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump,” she stated throughout a debate in August of that very same yr.
James received her election that yr, about two years into Trump’s first administration, and took a victory lap whereas vowing to show the “con man.”
“New Yorkers, we can spot a con man. We can spot a carnival barker, a fearmonger a mile away and he should know that we here in New York, and I in particular, we are not scared of you,” she stated. “As the new attorney general of his home state, I will be shining a light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn. I will hold him accountable using the unbending power of the law.”
TRUMP’S $454M JUDGMENT BOND SLASHED BY MORE THAN HALF IN APPEALS COURT RULING
Trump and his workforce instantly slammed James’ obvious fixation on pursuing him, with Trump saying on X on the time {that a} candidate who “openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda” was elected New York’s prime cop and that he would “never be treated fairly by these people – a total double standard of justice.”
Trump civil fraud case
Primary entrance to the Trump Tower constructing in Manhattan. (Photograph by Erik McGregor/LightRocket through Getty Photographs) (Getty Photographs)
About three months into taking workplace, James introduced an investigation into the Trump Group, claiming there was proof indicating that the president and his firm had falsely valued belongings to acquire loans, insurance coverage protection and tax deductions. The investigation was launched after Trump’s former private lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had beforehand served federal jail time for violating marketing campaign finance legal guidelines, testified earlier than Congress that Trump Org. had exaggerated the worth of his belongings.
James formally sued Trump, Trump Group and its senior management for allegedly falsely inflating “his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums, and to gain tax benefits, among other things.”
“For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct,” James stated in a press launch. “With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system. In fact, the very foundation of his purported net worth is rooted in incredible fraud and illegality. Mr. Trump thought he could get away with the art of the steal, but today, that ends.”
Trump charged that James had launched a “witch hunt” towards him after her explicitly campaigning on a platform to prosecute the president.
“Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who failed in her run for Governor, getting almost zero support from the public, and now is doing poorly against Law & Order AG candidate, highly respected Michael Henry,” Trump wrote on Fact Social following the lawsuit.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to talk throughout an election evening occasion on the Palm Seaside Conference Middle on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Seaside, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)
“I never thought this case would be brought – until I saw her really bad poll numbers. She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!” he added.
Trump and his household denied any wrongdoing, with the previous president saying his belongings had been undervalued.
Choose Arthur Engoron dominated in September of final yr within the non-jury trial that Trump and his group had dedicated fraud whereas constructing his actual property enterprise by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his belongings and exaggerating his web value. He was initially ordered to pay a penalty of $355 million, which rapidly elevated to over $450 million attributable to curiosity accruals of roughly $112,000 a day.
He was ordered to pay a $454 million sum in February of this yr.
Trump appealed the ruling. His attorneys known as New York Choose Arthur Engoron’s ruling “draconian, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
A panel of 5 judges on the appellate courtroom, notably, appeared receptive to reversing or lowering the $454 million civil fraud judgment towards Trump throughout courtroom proceedings in September of this yr.
Trump lawyer D. John Sauer argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York client safety legal guidelines and stated there have been “no victims” and “no complaints” of Trump’s enterprise from lenders and insurers. He added that if the decision shouldn’t be overturned, “people can’t do business in real estate” with out concern.
Choose Peter H. Moulton questioned whether or not James’ lawsuit had became “something it was not meant to do.”
The decide added that the “immense penalty in this case is troubling.”
The courtroom remains to be contemplating the attraction.
TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE
Trump has stated he’ll struggle the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
Entrance-row courtroom seat, declares she’s able to ‘seize’ Trump’s iconic buildings
NY AG Letitia James was caught smirking within the courtroom as Donald Trump Jr. was about to supply his testimony as a part of his father’s civil fraud trial. (Fox Information)
James incessantly sat within the courtroom all through the civil fraud proceedings, at one level even showing to smirk at Donald Trump Jr.
James was caught on digital camera showing gleeful as Donald Trump Jr. took the stand at his father’s civil trial in November, after incessantly sitting within the courtroom amid proceedings.
WHERE DO TRUMP’S LEGAL CASES STAND AFTER MASSIVE ELECTION WIN?
“It is so inappropriate and so highly unusual. Attorneys general do not attend trials. They just don’t,” Fox Information Authorized Editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn stated on “Fox & Friends” when requested about James’ recurring presence within the courtroom final yr.
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James sits within the courtroom in the course of the fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his youngsters. (Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Photographs)
James additionally slammed Trump in feedback to the press in the course of the trial.
“Trump’s comments were offensive, baseless, they were void of any facts and or any evidence. What they were were comments that unfortunately fomented violence, comments that I would describe as race-baiting, comments that unfortunately appeals to the bottom of our humanity,” James instructed the media in a press convention exterior of the courtroom in October of final yr.
JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP’S VICTORY PUTS AN END TO DEMOCRAT ATTACKS ON ONE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT
“This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals were engaged in patent practice of fraud, and I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law, and lastly I will not be bullied, and so Mr. Trump is no longer here. The Donald Trump show is over. This was nothing more than a political stunt,” James added.
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James returns to the courtroom after a lunch break in the course of the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court docket on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in New York Metropolis. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photographs)
After the decide’s ruling, James instructed the media in February of this yr that she was able to seize Trump’s New York Metropolis buildings, equivalent to Trump Tower.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James stated in an interview with ABC Information.
TRUMP SUES CBS NEWS FOR $10 BILLION ALLEGING ‘DECEPTIVE DOCTORING’ OF HARRIS’ ’60 MINUTES’ INTERVIEW
An appeals courtroom slashed Trump’s bond fee in March, and the previous president paid $175 million, which thwarted the state’s try to seize his properties whereas he appeals the case.
Trump Manhattan trial
Former President Donald Trump seems in courtroom with members of his authorized workforce for an arraignment on expenses stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush cash paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York Metropolis on, April 4, 2023. Reuters/Andrew Kelly/Pool (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Pool)
Trump has battled a handful of lawsuits originating in New York amid and following his first time period within the White Home, together with in 2019 when the New York Supreme Court docket ordered the dissolution of the NY-based charity the Donald J. Trump Basis, and numerous circumstances the place the state and metropolis sued him over insurance policies, such because the administration’s push to incorporate a citizenship query within the 2020 census.
Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg emerged as one other Trump foe, main the cost in his prison trial earlier this yr after charging Trump with 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information.
Trump was discovered responsible of 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information following his Manhattan prison trial in Might. Bragg’s workplace labored to show that Trump had falsified the enterprise information to hide a $130,000 fee to former porn star Stormy Daniels forward of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence within the case, and he has argued that it was “lawfare” promoted by the Biden administration and Democrats to injure his re-election efforts.
WHERE DOES TRUMP’S NEW YORK SENTENCING STAND AFTER MASSIVE ELECTION WIN?
Trump’s sentencing at the moment hangs within the stability, after his attorneys requested presiding Choose Juan Merchan to overturn the previous president’s responsible verdict in New York v. Trump after the Supreme Court docket dominated in July that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in workplace, however not for unofficial acts. Merchan is predicted to rule by Nov. 12 as to the place the costs stand, whereas Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 26.
Regardless of not taking the lead on the case, James celebrated Trump’s responsible verdict, tweeting her frequent saying aimed toward Trump, “No one is above the law,” shortly following the jury’s choice.
James and Gov. Hochul vow to proceed pursuing Trump after huge victory
Letitia James and Kathy Hochul pose after the rally at 1199 SEIU (Service Staff Worldwide Union) Headquarters. The Union endorsed the Democrats for statewide places of work for this yr’s election. (Photograph by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Photographs)
James and Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to struggle again towards any potential “revenge or retribution” from the Trump administration after his huge victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump sailed to victory on the evening of the election after locking down most battleground states, equivalent to Pennsylvania and Georgia.
“We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before,” James stated. “We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.”
Between 2019 and 2021, James stated, her workplace took almost 100 authorized actions towards Trump’s earlier administration.
“We’re ready to respond to any attempts to cut or eliminate any funding to the great state of New York, as the governor outlined,” James stated. “So, despite what has happened on the national stage, we will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge or retribution.”
Each Hochul and James congratulated Trump earlier than launching warnings on the president-elect.
TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS
“I want to be very clear that while we honor the results of this election and will work with anyone who wants to be a partner in achieving the goals of our administration in our state, that does not mean we’ll accept an agenda from Washington that strips away the rights that New Yorkers have long enjoyed,” Hochul stated in the course of the presser.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and President-elect Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs, left, Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Photographs, proper. )
“Our team will do whatever we have to do to identify any possible threats to these rights that we hold dear in the state of New York and protect New Yorkers,” Hochul stated. “This will include legislation, rulemaking, appropriations and partnerships with our congressional delegation and including the Biden administration at this time.”
Authorized consultants and supporters of the president-elect have in the meantime stated his huge victory final week probably marked the tip to “lawfare.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Letitia James tried lawfare. The Democrat Party tried lawfare, and they lost, so now they need to go home,” Fox Information’ Kaylee McEnany stated final week. “That strategy did not work. Letitia James brought a case, the civil fraud case. It was unprecedented, our own Brain Room said, ‘We cannot find any example of a similar suit against a crime that was victimless.’ They could not find precedent for this. So she tried this, and the naked political reason was this was politically motivated. She called Trump a con man, all sorts of names. She ran on this, and what she’s doing now is exactly what Gavin Newsom is doing, exactly what Kamala Harris did yesterday, and now her. They all want to be the leader of the resistance.”
“Lawfare was terrible for the country. The resounding win Americans have given Trump should be its death knell,” Fox contributor and former Assistant United States Legal professional for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy additionally wrote in an op-ed for Fox Information Digital final week.
Fierce Trump ally Mike Davis stated the upcoming administration will probably haven’t any persistence for “lawfare.”
“I can imagine that the Trump 47 Justice Department is not going to have any patience for this Democrat lawfare over the next four years,” he instructed Newsmax.
Fox Information Digital’s Brooke Singman, Greg Wehner and Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
