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Posts tagged ‘New York Attorney General Letitia James’

Bombshell: Karma Hits Trump Prosecutor in Stunning Mortgage Scandal


By Jimmy Parker | August 25, 2025

Read more at https://pagetraveler.com/bombshell-karma-hits-trump-prosecutor-in-stunning-mortgage-scandal/

The staggering hypocrisy of the liberal elite and their media accomplices is on full, breathtaking display as New York Attorney General Letitia James, a figure who built her entire political career on the weaponization of the legal system, now has the audacity to cry foul when the very same system turns its gaze upon her. For years, James operated not as an impartial arbiter of justice, but as a partisan attack dog, famously campaigning on a promise to target President Donald Trump.

She transformed the esteemed office of the Attorney General into a political weapon, relentlessly pursuing politically motivated charges against her opponents while enjoying the fawning coverage of a compliant press. Now, faced with serious, evidence-based allegations of her own financial fraud, her desperate claims of a political witch hunt ring hollow, exposing the profound double standard that defines the modern Democratic Party.

The case against James, as detailed by Bill Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is not a matter of political retribution but one of serious, alleged criminal misconduct that strikes at the heart of financial integrity. The allegations suggest a pattern of deception spanning decades, including

  • falsifying records to secure favorable mortgage terms for a property in Norfolk, Virginia by falsely claiming it as her primary residence,
  • misrepresenting a five-unit Brooklyn building as a four-unit to qualify for a better loan,
  • and even the bizarre instance of identifying her own father as her husband on mortgage documents.

These are not trivial matters; they are the types of “white collar” crimes federal prosecutors, with their 98% conviction rate, typically only pursue with ironclad evidence. This stands in stark contrast to the flimsy, manufactured cases James herself has championed, which were always transparently about political damage rather than actual justice.

The liberal media’s role in this charade has been predictable and shameful. Where they once cheered James on as she relentlessly pursued President Trump with charges that would never be brought against a private citizen, they now subtly frame her as a victim, questioning the motives of the investigators rather than the substance of the serious allegations. They created this monster, celebrating her weaponization of the courts, and now feign ignorance when the specter of actual, non-partisan justice appears. This is the same corrupt media complex that President Donald Trump has rightly and tirelessly fought against, a cabal of entrenched interests that protects its own while destroying the lives of conservatives.

The potential downfall of Letitia James would serve as a powerful testament to the enduring principle that no one, not even a powerful, politically-connected Democrat, is above the law—a principle that has been a cornerstone of President Trump’s mission to Drain the Swamp.

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Crime, Law, Political

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New York Appeals Court appears receptive to reversing or reducing $454M Trump civil fraud judgment


By Brooke Singman Fox News | Published September 26, 2024, 4:13pm EDT

Judges on a New York appeals court were open-minded and receptive to the possibility of reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Trump.  Trump appealed the civil fraud ruling that demanded he pay more than $450 million. The former president’s attorneys called New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional.” 

 TRUMP’S $454M JUDGMENT BOND SLASHED BY MORE THAN HALF IN APPEALS COURT RULING

Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for persistent and repeated fraud, falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. A five-judge panel on a New York appeals court in Manhattan Thursday heard oral arguments on the appeal. The former president did not attend oral arguments Thursday but was instead represented by his legal team.

Trump attorney D. John Sauer argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York consumer protection laws and said there were “no victims” and “no complaints” of Trump’s business from lenders and insurers. 

Attorney General lawsuit
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference National Town Hall on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC.  (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation)

Sauer said the cause “involves a clear-cut violation of the statute of limitations,” pointing to transactions used in the non-jury civil fraud trial that dated back more than a decade. 

TRUMP VOWS TO FIGHT NEW YORK AG CASE ‘ALL THE WAY UP TO THE US SUPREME COURT,’ AS DEADLINE TO POST $454M LOOMS

Sauer said that if the verdict is not overturned, “people can’t do business in real estate” without fear. 

The Appellate Division typically rules about a month after arguments are complete, meaning a final decision could come before Election Day on Nov. 5. 

Judge Peter H. Moulton questioned if James’ lawsuit turned into “something it was not meant to do.”  Moulton said the “immense penalty in this case is troubling.” But the state argued that there is evidence to support the verdict. 

TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE

In September 2023, before the non-jury trial began, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing. Trump was hit with an initial penalty of $355 million. That sum is quickly increasing via interest accruals of approximately $112,000 a day until paid in full, now sitting around $470 million.

Judge Arthur Engoron
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his children at New York State Supreme Court on November 13, 2023, in New York City.  ((Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images))

Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team had appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment. Trump’s legal team said the initial requested bond was “unprecedented for a private company,” and said to post it in the judgment’s full amount was a “practical impossibility.” 

An appeals court slashed former President Trump’s bond payment in March, and the former president paid $175 million. Trump has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.” 

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for the start of his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023, in New York City.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, whom they viewed as a “whale of a client.” Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud. Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic – like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse – was simply an error.

“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

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Law, Political

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Trump legal team blasts ‘unconstitutional’ attempts to force property sale as deadline for $464M fine nears


Brooke Singman By Brooke Singman Fox News | Published March 21, 2024 2:28pm EDT

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-legal-team-blasts-unconstitutional-attempts-force-property-sale-deadline-464m-fine-nears

Lawyers for former President Trump are blasting New York Attorney General Letitia James’ “unconstitutional” attempts to block the GOP presumptive nominee’s appeal and force a property sale as the deadline for him to post hundreds of millions of dollars of bond in the case looms. Trump and his legal team have appealed and requested a stay on his $464 million civil fraud judgment. On Monday, his lawyers said that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” amid attempts to approach about 30 surety companies. 

NY AG ASKS COURT TO IGNORE TRUMP CLAIM THAT POSTING $464M BOND IS ‘PRACTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY’

The lawyers said the “enormous magnitude” of the bond requirement, which effectively requires cash reserves approaching $1 billion, is “unprecedented for a private company.” 

https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/file_2274.pdf

James has pushed back, calling Trump’s request for a stay “extraordinary” and “improper.” James has said that Trump should be able to secure the entire value via multiple sureties or offer his real estate holdings as collateral.

But Trump attorney Clifford S. Robert on Thursday sent a letter to the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, arguing James’ efforts are “unconstitutional.” 

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“It would be completely illogical — and the definition of an unconstitutional Excessive Fine and a Taking — to require Defendants to sell properties at all, and especially in a ‘fire sale,’ in order to be able to appeal the lawless Supreme Court judgment, as that would cause harm that cannot be repaired once the Defendants do win, as is overwhelmingly likely, on appeal,” Robert wrote. 

Robert also argued that by James demanding Trump post bond in the full amount in order to appeal, she and the Supreme Court of New York have “sought to impose a patently unreasonable, unjust, and unconstitutional (under both the Federal and New York State Constitutions) bond condition, which would cause irreparable harm and foreclose any review of Supreme Court’s deeply flawed decision in this case.” 

“In short, while attempting to cynically and wrongfully tar the Defendants’ witnesses as ‘unreliable,’ the Attorney General does not actually dispute the truth of a single one of their specific claims,” Robert wrote. “This is unsurprising because these claims are undeniable to those with knowledge of real estate and sureties.” 

Trump plans to ‘exhaust all options’ for bond

TRUMP UNABLE TO GET $464M APPEAL BOND TO STOP COLLECTION, ATTORNEYS SAY: ‘PRACTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY’

Fox News Digital has learned that Trump and his legal team currently have “all options on the table.” 

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that his team plans “to exhaust all options.” 

Donald Trump and Letitia James
New York Attorney General said she is “prepared” to ask the judge to seize former President Donald Trump’s assets if he cannot pay the $354 million judgment handed down in his civil fraud case.  (ABC News/Screenshot/Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images)

“The Trump team is continuing to look at every conceivable option,” the source said, adding that they are “hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.” 

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT

If the Trump team’s appeal is granted, the judgment bond could be slashed considerably. It is unclear whether the court will rule on his appeal. 

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Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

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NY attorney general sues world’s largest beef producer over methane emissions, climate commitments


Thomas Catenacci By Thomas Catenacci Fox News | Published February 29, 2024 10:47am EST

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ny-attorney-general-sues-worlds-largest-beef-producer-methane-emissions-climate-commitment

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing JBS USA, the world’s largest producer of beef, over the company’s emissions and for “greenwashing” by allegedly misleading the public about its environmental impact.

In an announcement, James noted that beef production has the largest greenhouse gas footprint of any major food commodity, and that animal agriculture accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to James, JBS USA’s various net-zero pledges for 2030 and 2040 are therefore misleading and “not feasible” given the scope of its worldwide beef production operations.

“As families continue to face the daily impacts of the climate crisis, they are willing to spend more of their hard-earned money on products from brands that are better for the environment,” James said in a statement. “When companies falsely advertise their commitment to sustainability, they are misleading consumers and endangering our planet.”

“JBS USA’s greenwashing exploits the pocketbooks of everyday Americans and the promise of a healthy planet for future generations,” she added. “My office will always ensure that companies do not abuse the environment and the trust of hardworking consumers for profit.”

Certifiable crazy.

GOP REP INTRODUCES RESOLUTION CONDEMNING UN FOR CALLING ON AMERICANS TO STOP EATING MEAT

Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York on Sept. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

The lawsuit was applauded by state Democrats and national climate advocacy organizations like Earthjustice, Mighty Earth, Friends of the Earth US, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and Stand.earth. 

“JBS repeatedly claims that it will reach net zero by 2040. This claim was found to be misleading and yet JBS continues to assert it,” said Peter Lehner, an attorney at Earthjustice. “While it is critical for every company to reduce its climate change impact, JBS would need to implement enormous operational changes to achieve this goal. However, JBS is doing very little and is not taking anywhere close to the steps that would be required.”

UN CLIMATE SUMMIT SERVING GOURMET BURGERS, BBQ AS IT CALLS FOR AMERICANS TO STOP EATING MEAT

In her announcement and lawsuit, James pointed to several instances in which JBS USA and its executives made pledges to reduce the company’s impact on the environment. She also stated the company — which has a market cap of more than $10 billion and whose North American beef business earns tens of billions of dollars annually — has acknowledged consumers are more interested in sustainable products.

JBS plant
A JBS pork plant is pictured in Worthington, Minnesota. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

For example, in March 2021, JBS announced a pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 across global operations and including indirect downstream emissions. The company then began a publicity campaign touting the pledge, running a full-page advertisement one month later in The New York Times stating “it’s possible” for meat production to be “part of the climate solution.”

Since then, JBS and its subsidiaries have continued to tout the 2040 pledge and other sustainability goals. The company even presented at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai late last year, announcing additional sustainability initiatives and investments.

TWO DOZEN REPUBLICANS CALL ON BIDEN TO DISAVOW JOHN KERRY’S REMARKS TARGETING FOOD PRODUCTION

“JBS takes its commitment to a more sustainable future for agriculture very seriously,” JBS USA spokesperson Nikki Richardson said in an email to Fox News Digital. “We disagree with the action taken today by the New York Attorney General’s office.”

“JBS will continue to partner with farmers, ranchers and our food system partners around the world to help feed a growing population while using fewer resources and reducing agriculture’s environmental impact,” she continued. “Our belief that American agriculture can help sustainably feed the world is undeterred.”

Cows in Colorado
Cows and calves are herded to pasture on a ranch near Boulder, Colorado. (Reuters/Rick Wilking)

James’ lawsuit comes as environmental groups and lawmakers worldwide increasingly set their sights on the agriculture industry. The global food system — which includes land-use change, actual agricultural production, packaging and waste management — generates about 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of 34% of total worldwide emissions, according to a 2021 study published in the Nature Food journal.

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President Biden’s international climate envoy John Kerry warned last year that decarbonization would be impossible without a concerted effort from the agriculture industry to achieve green goals.

“We can’t get to net-zero, we don’t get this job done unless agriculture is front and center as part of the solution. So all of us understand here the depths of this mission,” Kerry said.

Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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