New York Democrat Attorney General Letitia James has in no way hidden her desire to pursue and ruin her political opponents, critics say.
In August of 2020, James attempted to dissolve the National Rifle Association. James's lawsuit claimed financial misconduct on the part of top officers of the gun-rights organization, including Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. During her 2018 campaign for attorney general, she had labeled the group a “terrorist organization” in an interview with Ebony magazine and vowed to “destroy” the group in a release from her campaign.
A state court judge blocked the dissolution of the organization in a March 2022 ruling.
Now, James is following the same playbook in her effort to destroy the business empire built by Donald Trump.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said that James is “hell bent” on bringing Trump down.
In a lawsuit initiated by James, New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Sept. 26 ruled that Trump’s business was guilty of committing fraud and ordered Trump’s business licenses to be rescinded while ultimately seeking to dissolve Trump’s businesses.
If not successfully appealed, the order would strip Trump of his authority to make strategic and financial decisions over some of his key properties in New York.
“This is one of the largest corporations in New York, it employs a lot of people, it has iconic properties. It seems like the attorney general is hell bent on dissolving this corporation,” Turley told Fox News.
Trump has spoken out against the trial, calling it a “sham” and calling for Engoron to be disbarred.
The employees of Trump's businesses, Turley added, "don’t really have a representative in court for their interest and there is also this question of just overkill. You know, there is evidence of overvaluing and undervaluing assets in this case. That has long been a problem in real estate."
On Friday, Judge Peter Moulton of the 1st Department of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, halted Engoron’s order.
The judge, however, declined to pause the fraud trial.
We thank the Appellate Division for staying the NY Attorney General’s and Judge Engoron’s overzealous attempt to cancel our New York business certificates. Judge Engoron’s order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000…
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) October 6, 2023
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