Letitia James campaigned to be attorney general of New York on the promise she would “get” Trump. The judge in her fraud case against President Donald Trump, Arthur Engoron, exhibited a long list of anti-Trump behavior, including his in-court rulings against the president.
So the result, a nearly $500 million penalty against Trump, his family and his organizations, was no surprise.
But justice prevailed at the appellate level, where the penalty was thrown out as unconstitutional, and now Trump has filed paperwork to get rid of the rest of the case, the no-penalty determination of “fraud.”
Ironically, James herself now is being investigated for allegedly committing mortgage fraud by lying to the government about her properties so that she would get better mortgage interest terms.
A report at Politico explains that Trump is asking a state court to wipe away “the last remnants” of James’ case against him.
His lawyers have asked for that from New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, even though a lower court’s ruling mostly was in his favor.
That ruling tossed the estimated $500 million civil fraud judgment demanded by James and imposed by Engoron, without the aid of a jury. But it left the fraud judgment in place.
The case wildly claimed that Trump and his companies mis-valued his properties in order to get better loan interest rates. And the judgment came despite testimony from witnesses – the alleged victims – who reported being happy doing business with Trump, confirming that all loans were repaid, and expressing a willingness to do more business with Trump.
The report said, “In their brief, Trump’s lawyers applauded the lower appeals court for tossing the ‘excessive’ judgment but asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the fraud finding and remove a ban that blocks Trump and his two eldest sons from serving as officers of a New York business for up to three years. The ban also prevents Trump and his business entities from applying for loans from any financial institution with a New York branch for three years.”
The case, Trump’s lawyer confirmed, was “legally deficient.”
They explained that James was targeting Trump for political purposes, a scheme that Democrats have used over and over against Trump.
While initial attempts to bring charges against James were opposed by a judge, on a technicality, there’s now pending a new referral asking for an investigation and, if appropriate, criminal charges against her.
Besides finding the punishment unconstitutional, an appeals court panel delivered a blow to Engoron, announcing that he made a number of “errors” in his rulings on the case.
One appeals judge pointed out that James didn’t have the authority to bring the case in the first place.
And a judge found that James was after a “political” agenda, trying to destroy Trump’s political career and destroy his real estate business.
Prosecutors working on the case against James have revealed evidence that she lied to the lending bank, the IRS, and her homeowners’ insurer in committing fraud.
The Washington Examiner said, “The charges stem from allegations that James lied on a 2020 mortgage application to obtain favorable loan terms for a Virginia property.”
Under oath, she said her Norfolk residences was a “secondary home,” like a vacation home.
Her primary residence, she said, was elsewhere.
But witnesses have confirmed James’s niece and three children lived there full-time.
“In her homeowner’s insurance application, James claimed that the home would be unoccupied for five months out of the year, despite it being occupied the whole year,” the report said. And, “In another insurance application, James claimed only one person would be occupying the house, an adult, and no children.”
The charge is that James knew she was doing wrong, and gained financially by getting a 3% mortgage rather than a rate of 3.815%.
If ultimately convicted, the Democrat could spend years in jail.
Pinocchio: Prosecutor releases ‘damning’ evidence against Tish James
