New York Attorney General Letitia James responded in real time as Donald Trump Jr tweeted that “the bulls*** Dem witch-hunt continues!” after she announced a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and three of his children.
“Today, I filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for engaging in years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family, and the Trump Organization. There aren’t two sets of laws for people in this nation: former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans,” Ms James tweeted on Wednesday.
“With the help of Donald Jr, Eric, Ivanka, and other defendants, Trump variously unlawfully inflated and deflated his net worth by billions to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes. In short, he lied to gain massive financial benefits for himself,” Ms James added.
The state attorney general was asked about Mr Trump Jr’s tweet during a press conference on Wednesday, saying that “with regards to the name-calling, as you know, they’ve basically attempted to delay this investigation”.
“Two judges have dismissed those claims that this was a political witch hunt,” she said. “So I give no credence to those names that he has referred to me.”
“Mr Trump, the Trump Organization, as well as his family, will still have to deal with this complaint, they will still have to respond ... to the allegations they are in,” she added.
“If in fact, he decided to move to Florida, the reality is that he still has to deal with the great state of New York and respond to the complaint,” Ms James said.
Mr Trump Jr posted a video compilation of clips showing Ms James blasting Mr Trump, urging people to vote to get rid of him, and saying that she would be a “pain in the a**” of the former president. Other clips showed Ms James saying “we need to follow his money,” “focus on his abuses” and that Mr Trump “built his wealth off the backs of New Yorkers”.
Ms James tweeted on Wednesday that her investigation “found that Trump, his family, and the Trump Org used fraudulent and misleading asset valuations over 200 times in 10 years on his annual financial statements. These statements were then used to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and insurance coverage”.
“Trump’s crimes are not victimless,” she added. “When the well-connected and powerful break the law to get more money than they are entitled to, it reduces resources available to working people, small businesses, and taxpayers.”
Former President Trump responded on Truth Social, writing, “another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who failed in her run for Governor, getting almost zero support from the public, and now is doing poorly against Law & Order AG candidate, highly respected Michael Henry. I never thought this case would be brought - until I saw her really bad poll numbers. She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!”
