New York Attorney General Letitia James has been gunning for Donald Trump and his entire Big Apple criminal empire since the moment the now-former president popped up on her radar.
James has infamously filed a sprawling civil suit against Trump, his eldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the entire Trump Organization family company as a whole — alleging that they knowingly and purposely filed fraudulent financial statements to misrepresent the value of their properties and assets in an effort to obtain more favorable perks from lenders, insurance companies, and the Internal Revenue Service.
When James originally launched the suit back in September 2022, she was seeking $250 million in penalties. However, the New York AG has since requested additional penalties against those named in her suit, with a court filing last month that now seeks not only a $370 million monetary penalty, but also asks to ban the former president, his children, and his organization from conducting any further business in the state of New York.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the case, has recently stated that he hopes to deliver a ruling on the case by mid-February, after exceeding a former self-imposed deadline of January 31st.
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As such, Newsweek now reports that, if Judge Engoron delivers his ruling by his new self-imposed deadline and, depending on what is contained in that highly-anticipated ruling, Donald J. Trump’s entire New York business empire could be wiped off the map within the next 24 hours.
Trump is at risk of not only further financial ruling in this case, but the very real possibility that all of his holdings and assets could be ripped from his control, with an additional ban from applying for any new loans in the state of New York for the next 5 years.
As noted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by lawyer and legal analyst Lisa Rubin, even the powers of the White House, should Trump make a successful return, can’t save him from these punishments, as this case “can be appealed but cannot be wiped away.”
On Friday, Judge Arthur Engoron is expected to release his ruling in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud trial, a ruling that can be appealed but cannot be wiped away simply by virtue of Trump’s election to the presidency. And the consequences could be, well, yuge. 1/
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) February 14, 2024
In an extensive, in-depth thread on this case, Rubin further explains that Trump cannot “just pick up and move” his empire out of the state of New York.
In fact, he’s already tried that when a Trump Organization II entity suddenly popped up in the state of Deleware and was registered in the state of New York on the very same day James filed the suit in 2022.
James’ office immediately caught onto Trump’s scheme and requested measures that would ensure the original Trump Organization could not move assets into the Deleware company or anywhere else in the midst of the trial without prior approval.
James’ request was granted by Judge Engoron in November 2022 and a financial monitor was assigned to the Trump Organization to ensure that Donald and his people were unable to pull any strings behind the curtain.
“Without telling the judge or the AG […] the Trump Org. cannot just play three-card Monty & move their buildings or golf courses or even their cash around so they wind up in new business entities outside New York,” Rubin explained.
“Instead, at best, they have to give their adversaries, a court, and the court-appointed monitor a two-week head start, in which time they could be further enjoined. The bottom line is they’re mostly stuck in place—and on Friday, it could get much, much worse.”
You can find Rubin’s full thread here.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
