Does state Attorney General Letitia James believe her only job is attacking Donald Trump?
Now she’s going after the ex-prez for posting the bond on the $454 million civil-fraud judgment she won against him in February, a step he must take in order to appeal.
Last week, Trump posted the $175 million bond, provided by Knight Specialty Insurance Co., to temporarily prevent James from snatching up Trump Tower and other assets (an outcome she’s been raring for since the judgment was passed down) while he continued to fight the ruling in an appeals court.
Not good enough for Tish: On Thursday, the AG’s office filed paperwork demanding that Trump or the insurer prove within 10 days that they can make good on the bond, claiming the state took “exception to the sufficiency of the surety” provided by Trump.
This does nothing except gum up the appeals process, and make Trump jump through more legal hoops — all for a civil case with no victims.
Remember: This is about whether Trump overvalued assets to acquire loans that he paid back in full.
Loans from perfectly competent bankers, who knew perfectly well that they’d need to do their own due diligence before handing over a dime.
James insists she’s “very confident” Trump’s appeal will fail, but she sure seems worried that a competent appellate court will reveal her prosecution for what it was: a contrived attempt to “get Trump” by dragging lawfare into the gutter.
Tish has become the Wile E. Coyote to Trump’s Road Runner, setting up harebrained traps and decoys to sabotage the former president — and making New York’s legal system look like a joke in the process.
If this verdict stands, everyone thinking of doing business in the Empire State has to take into account the risk that the politicians can stretch the law to destroy them — a message sure to drive investment elsewhere.
Every New Yorker will pay for James’ headline-hunting ambition.