Letitia James is the Attorney General for the state of New York, and that makes her one of the most powerful prosecutors in the country, especially since she’s making it clear that she intends to “use every area of the law” as she investigates the president, his family, and his business, as NBC News has reported:
“New York law allows the attorney general to seek restitution and damages — and, in extreme cases, dissolution — if a business is found to have engaged in persistent fraud. There’s also the Martin Act, a 1921 statute designed to protect investors.
“Past attorneys general have used the Martin Act, considered to be the U.S.’s toughest such state statute in this realm, to expand their powers in the financial crimes sector. The law empowers the attorney general to subpoena witnesses and documents for information pertaining to possible fraud.”
As many crimes as the Trump Organization is suspected of having committed (Trump University was just the tip of the iceberg, experts say), AG James could use a legal sledgehammer as she goes about bringing charges against the president’s company, which just so happens to be run by his two eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric. And that could prove especially catastrophic for the Trump business empire. The power wielded by James under the laws of New York could even be used for a “judgment of corporate death” if she chooses to seek the total dismantling Trump’s holdings in real estate and other businesses.
The New York AG has already signaled the direction she plans to pursue, at least initially, having subpoenaed banks that do business with Trump as a way of seeing inside the Trump Organization and Trump’s bank accounts.
Something James told MSNBC host Ari Melber should be of special concern to the president and anyone with connections to the Trump Organization:
“Most of (Trump’s) business activities are performed in New York, he engages in business in New York, he operates in New York and it’s really critically important that New Yorkers as taxpayers — it’s really critically important that we understand and know whether or not he devalued his corporations and he received some tax benefits thereof, that he engaged in false claims against New Yorkers.”
Letitia James is going after Trump on numerous fronts. But it’s her investigation of the Trump Organization that could well pose the greatest legal danger to him.
