Donald Trump Tears Into Letitia James: ‘Total Disaster’

Former President Donald Trump tore into New York Attorney General Letitia James on his social-media platform, describing her as a “total disaster.”
“This Witch Hunt, by Letitia James, is SO BAD for New York City and State,” the Republican presidential nominee wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said that the almost $500 million civil fraud judgment he was ordered to pay, stemming from a lawsuit brought by James, is deterring companies from investing in New York. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in February that Trump lied for years about his wealth on documents given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans. The judge ordered the former president and the other defendants to pay more than $350 million in penalties—a sum that has now ballooned with interest to over $489 million.
“Companies are refusing to come in and invest as long as it is outstanding, and others are leaving because of it — and nothing can stop them,” Trump wrote. “The negative impact on New York State, and JOBS, is like no other case that has been prosecuted in many years – A TOTAL DISASTER! Letitia James knows this, but doesn’t care – To her, it’s just a Political Campaign. So sad for our Country.”
Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign and James’ office for further comment via email.
Trump’s post came in response to an opinion column by attorney and legal analyst Jonathan Turley that was published by The Hill with the title: “Letitia James may be winning lawfare but losing the war.”
In the column, Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School who has been supportive of Trump in his legal cases. He discussed a hearing last week where the Republican’s attorneys urged a New York appeals court on Thursday to reverse or reduce a civil fraud judgment that stands to cost Trump nearly $500 million.
During arguments on Thursday, Trump’s lawyer John Sauer said that the judgment was “draconian” and added that there were no direct victims since the banks involved in the transactions were satisfied. At least two justices seemed skeptical about the enormity of the judgment, Newsweek reported.
In his column, Turley wrote that James’ “political success” in “weaponizing her office has been in stark contrast with her legal setbacks in courts.”
James, a Democrat, “faced openly skeptical justices who raised the very arguments that some of us have made for years about the ludicrous fine imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron,” Turley added, noting comments from Justice David Friedman and Justice Peter Moulton.
The case “was never about markets,” Turley wrote. “It was about politics. The fact that the banks were ‘happy’ is immaterial. Happiness in New York is a political, not legal calculus.”
Turley added that James also “faced a stinging defeat” in her lawsuit against anti-abortion organizations and pregnancy counseling centers for promoting an unproven and unapproved method to reverse medication abortions. Last week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that bars James from taking action against pregnancy clinics that promote the method on the grounds it would restrict protected free speech.
“In the end, James knows her audience, and it is not appellate judges,” Turley wrote. “It does not matter to her if she is found to be violating the Constitution or abusing opponents. She has converted the New York legal system into a series of thrill-kills. For some judges, however, the thrill may be gone.”