When Letitia “Tish” James ran for New York Attorney General in 2018, she vowed to “challenge this illegitimate president,” that being Donald Trump. “I believe that this president is incompetent,” James said. “I believe that this president is ill-equipped to serve in the highest office of this land. And I believe that he is an embarrassment to all that we stand for.” She also said that “Trump should be indicted on criminal charges and charged with obstruction of justice.” During her victory speech after being elected Attorney General, James said “I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of (Trump’s) real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn.”
You cannot say that AG James is not true to her word. As reported by CNN in mid September, “The New York state attorney general filed a sweeping lawsuit…against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself. In the more than 200-page lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.”
The reactions from Trump-haters was immediate. Actor Billy Baldwin (apparently a brother to Alec Baldwin) stated “Am I alone, or should Donald Trump be CRIMINALLY charged as well?” Former Meathead Rob Reiner said “Letitia James lands the first big blow…Merrick Garland will deliver the knockout punch. A great day for the Rule of Law.” Then there is Mia Farrow, best known as Frank Sinatra and Woody Allen’s ex-wife, who said, “if any of us had committed ANY of these transgressions, we’d have been in prison long ago…they have been cheating the American people out of billions for decades…facts reveal crooks-scammers soaked in money they didn’t earn honestly. They are a crime family…”
Meanwhile, according to former US Attorney General, Bill Barr, no friend to Donald Trump, “It’s hard for me not to conclude that this is a political hit job…I’m not even sure that (James) has a good case against Trump himself, but what ultimately persuades me that this is a political hit job is that she grossly overreaches when she tries to drag the children into this…this is (Trump’s) personal financial statement, prepared by the CFO, accounting firms were involved in it…the children aren’t going to know the details of that, nor are they expected in the real world to do their own due diligence and have it reviewed independently.”
Nonetheless, a civil lawsuit must come as a devastating disappointment to Hollywood elites like Baldwin and Reiner who long to see Donald Trump in handcuffs. Incarceration, however, is a sentence which could be handed to the former President only after a criminal charge is filed by a Criminal Complaint or Grand Jury Indictment, and only after the defendant is found guilty of that charge.
In New York State Supreme Court, Civil Division, where James has filed her lawsuit, the penalties are either injunctive (ordering the defendant to do, or stop doing something), or monetary (the payment of reimbursement or damages). Thus, in People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, et. al., James seeks, among other penalties, “Barring Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization from entering into any New York State commercial real estate acquisitions for a period of five years…Barring Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization from applying for loans from any financial institution chartered by or registered with the New York Department of Financial Services for a period of five years…Permanently barring Mr. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director in any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State…(and)…(a)warding disgorgement of all financial benefits obtained by each Defendant from the fraudulent scheme…of an amount to be determined at trial but estimated to be $250,000,000.”
James’ complaint lists a series of financial transactions which she asserts are fraudulent involving properties owned by the Trump organization in New York, Florida, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and even Scotland, raising the immediate question of whether or not the New York State Supreme Court would even have jurisdiction over properties and transactions not located in New York State. But the allegations brought by the New York State Attorney General raise an even more serious question – does she have the legal standing to bring this litigation?
“’Standing‘ is a legal term used in connection with lawsuits and a requirement of Article III of the United States Constitution. In simple terms, courts use ‘standing’ to ask, ‘Does this party have a ‘dog in this fight?’…To have standing, a party must show an ‘injury in fact’ to their own legal interests. In other words, has the party itself ‘suffered’ some sort of actual harm?”
Judge John Wilson’s (ret.) article concludes tomorrow
Photo: NY AG L. James