0
0
Excellent piece from Manhattan Contrarian
Two weeks ago, on February 16, in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court issued his decision ordering Donald Trump to pay some $355 million of “disgorgement” penalties. The stated basis for imposing these extraordinary penalties was Trump’s supposed “fraud” of exaggerating the value of some of his properties on financial statements submitted to a bank. No one had been damaged by Trump’s conduct, and the bank in question had neither complained nor sought any relief; however, the Attorney General asserted, and the judge agreed, that a legal basis existed for imposing the penalties under New York’s Executive Law Section 63(12), which allows the AG to prosecute “persistent fraud or illegality” without need for showing traditional elements of fraud like intent and damages, let alone a victim.
The issuance of Justice Engoron’s decision brought forth an immediate reaction from many quarters (including Manhattan Contrarian here). James had campaigned for office on a platform of “getting Trump,” a major political adversary, and had sought and obtained penalties far larger than any previously awarded under this statute, for conduct far less egregious. If the AG can use a broad statute to target a politically-disfavored individual like Trump in this way, how could any person doing business in New York think they are safe from similar legal abuse?
Recognizing the problem, our lightweight Governor Kathy Hochul went on a radio talk show on February 18 in an effort to reassure the New York business community. RealClearPolitics on February 19 has an audio clip and a partial transcript of Governor Hochul’s remarks. The key line was that Trump’s case was an “extraordinary, unusual circumstance,” and therefore “law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers . . . have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior.”
Law-abiding New Yorkers “have nothing to worry about”? Really, Governor Hochul? AG James waited all of ten days before making a complete fool of Hochul. On February 28 James dropped her latest over-the-top politicized case. The new target is something called JBS USA Food Company Holdings — the U.S. subsidiary of the world’s largest producer of beef. Here is the AG’s press release announcing the filling of the case; and here is a copy of the Complaint.
p
Go read it all
Average Rating